


The Beginning of the End

by queenietheband



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bisexual Mike Wheeler, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Will Byers, Gen, Jealous Mike Wheeler, M/M, Mike Wheeler Is a Little Shit, Minor Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Minor Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Pining, Post-Canon, Protective Max, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Will Byers Can't Catch a Break, Will Byers Has Powers, Will Byers-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-09-16 02:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 28,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16944870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenietheband/pseuds/queenietheband
Summary: Takes place after season 2.It's the party's junior year and instead of getting to look forward to the end of high school, their lives take a turn for the worse, especially for Will.But don't worry.It's only the beginning.(I suck at summarizes but I'm trying my best lol)(Will end up with Mike/Will)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic and I hope you enjoy the story. Let me know what you think about it in the comments!

The first day of junior year was the day everything went horribly wrong. Considering the fact that Will’s whole life was one disaster after another, he really should not have expected anything else. 

“Come on guys, we can’t just stand out here waiting forever”, Dustin said as he hopped from one foot to the other trying to keep warm. Dustin was currently sporting a bomber jacket, complete with patches sewn in and everything. His wild curly mane was currently slicked back and the shit-eating grin he had been spotting ever since his mom had dropped him off at the school hadn’t left his face. Since Steve Harrington had become his mentor, not only had Dustin got more game, he got a whole new style. It was like looking at a mini Steve and no one in the party had let him live it down throughout the summer. “I want to go inside already and explore the great unknown”.

Will rolled his eyes when Dustin physically jumped with excitement. He seemed to be the only one out of all of them who had been excited about their first day. Everyone else was just hoping to make it to lunch. “We’ll give them three more minutes and then we’ll go in.” Lucas looked pointedly at Dustin and switched his gaze to Max immediately, who was currently skateboarding up and down the sidewalk narrowly weaving between the students walking up. Ever since that fateful year, Max and Lucas had stuck together, finally making it official that previous summer. Everyone had been happy for them, including Mike and Eleven, who still felt bad about the way they treated Max when they had first met.

As if on cue, Mike’s bike whizzed past them and pulled into the bike stand, El doing the steering while Mike sat behind looking as if he didn’t even know how he got there. The rest of the group headed towards them and Will picked up on the end of Mike and El’s conversation as everyone drew closer.

“-maybe next time don’t look so calm with how fast we were going. There’s only so much a person can stand with speed, El,” Mike lectured as he fixed his hair back into a more presentable look instead of the wind blown mess it currently was. Mike got off the bike and immediately joked around with the others while Will made his way to the front of the bike stand to help El with securing it. El was sitting there staring the bike lock and only after Will reached out and guided her hands with where to put it did she actually smile.

Will and El’s relationship at the start had been dismissive at best, both of them uneasy with their shared trauma and shared attention from Mike. Only after the two had actually sat down one day at Will’s house and found out they both liked secretly judging Hop when he flirted with Joyce the pair had been inseparable, especially now that Hopper and Joyce were dating now.

“Excited?”, Eleven questioned. Will broke out of his trip down memory lane and glanced at El who was running her hands through her chestnut hair, something she had been doing nonstop ever since it had grown past her shoulders. Will gave an easy smile at El and gave her a hand up as he brushed off his jeans.

“A little. I’m just glad we’re juniors now and halfway done with this torture,” he replied. El nodded absentmindedly at him as she reached up and brushed a piece of Will’s hair out of his eyes. Will himself hadn’t even paid attention to his hair this morning, so it was a good thing El was fixing it for him.

Right after everything with the Mind Flayer went down, Will hated looking at himself in the mirror. It was a constant reminder of what he had done and how that face had been the face of a literal monster involuntarily. So, Will had marched up to his mom and begged her to let him change his appearance. He had switched out all his old clothes to newer hand me downs from Jonathan and had been allowed to get his hair cut at an actual salon, a look that was out of his face and gave him a much older appearance. It was a much better look for him, something that fit in with the whole artsy side of his personality.

While El finished running her hands through his now made up hair, he felt a hand wrap around his shoulder pulling him from El and towards the school. Will knew right away it was Mike, simply because of how comforting his presence made Will feel. He shyly looked up at Mike, who was still unfairly a good few inches taller than him and listened to Mike ramble about what the best seats to get were as they headed towards the building. Will quickly looked down and let himself be guided by Mike to the front doors, disappearing into his thoughts. His crush on Mike had been something that still made Will uneasy and even though he thought it would go away after seeing Mike and El together, it only made the crush worse. He hadn’t told anyone, in fear of being rejected by someone he loved and he definitely wasn’t going to tell anyone now that Mike and El were happily dating. It hurt, but Will only wanted what was best for his friends, even if it killed him inside.

Before he could head down that rabbit hole of disastrous thoughts, the group had finally made it into the school, greeted by students running up and down the hallways, shoving things into lockers, others yelling at people down the hall, and just nervous looking freshman that looked like they wanted to disappear into the wall. Will certainly didn’t miss  _ this _ over the summer. Lucas was gently pushing on Will’s back in an effort to get him to move forward and after the party had given nods to each other, they all spread out and headed to their own lockers. They were all used to the constant movement in the school and had a system figured out to make it as painless as possible. The group didn’t have that many classes together, none of the classes with even all six of them together. However, a few classes in Will’s schedule had been the same as his friends, the first one being English with Mike and Max.

Will gathered all the things he needed for his first class and headed over to the west wing, where the class was. Pushing through the restless students, he spotted Max’s red hair in the crowd and immediately headed towards her. She had stopped just outside the room and was aggressively trying to zip up her backpack that contained the mess of her books and school supplies.

“How is it that it’s only the first day of school and you already have everything so disorganized?”, Will tutted as he zipped up her bookbag for her. Max huffed at him and stuck out her tongue as she turned around to fully face him when he finished with her bag.

“It’s simply a gift Byers, and frankly I am offended that you doubt my organization skills”, she joked and Will laughed as they continued to playfully tease each other. Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw Mike round the corner and he turned to try and get Mike’s attention before he noticed El with him. Mike had his arm wrapped around El as he had done earlier to Will and immediately Will’s stomach was in knots. A headache was building and it felt like a tiny pressure was being pushed against his temples. He faltered mid-sentence when he saw Mike lean down and kiss El and only Max clearing her throat in front of him got him to break his gaze from the couple.

Max was eyeing him curiously a hand resting on arm. She might not have known what had just happened to Will but her keyed in senses told her it wasn't good.

“You okay?” Mike said as he wandered over to them, a worried look plastered over his features as he took in the scene in front of him, Max holding onto Will and Will having gone completely red. Will opened his mouth to say everything was fine but Max seemed to beat him to the punch and nodded a bit too enthusiastically at Mike, her long red hair swishing around her shoulders.

“He's fine, just remembered something he forgot about.” Mike didn't look all that convinced but after glancing at Will, who had carefully wiped his face of emotion, made a noise of agreement. Mike seemed appeased and brushed past Will to get into the classroom, Max and Will trailing him. Before Will could take his seat in the front of the classroom next to Mike, Max tugged his arm and fixed him with a pointed look as if to say we'll talk about it later. All Will could do was nod, but there was no way he was going to tell her the truth about what happened.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Will had floated through his classes, meeting his friends at lunch and going through the syllabuses in the classes. It was a seemingly easy day. The last class of the day, art, was what Will felt most excited about. Instead of making them read a syllabus, the teacher had simply told them to paint their feelings about the first day of school and so Will was currently staring at his painting mixed with blue and green. Looking around the room, he admired other people's work until his eyes landed on the painting next to him. A boy sat there, brushing a bright pink along the edges of the canvas. Will hadn't realized he had been staring until the boy cleared his throat.

Will smiled apologetically at the boy. He had light blonde hair that looked surprisingly soft and his bright blue eyes were staring back at Will, almost if they could see right through him. He held out his hand and Will immediately shook it. “Hi, I'm Adrian. I really like your painting.”

Will blushed. He still wasn't used to getting compliments about his work, even if the party constantly did it. It felt nice to be complimented by someone who didn't actually know him though.

“I’m Will and thanks, I like yours too. It looks almost very….” Will hesitated, unsure of where he was actually heading.

“Feminine? I get that a lot.”

Will immediately tensed up shaking his head as if to make it out like that wasn't actually what he was going to say, but Adrian was smiling coyly at him. “It's fine, I see it as a compliment. I wanted to show how happy i was feeling and if i chose ‘girly colors’ I don’t mind.” He nodded at Will’s painting. “Why'd you pick those colors?”

Will considered his response. Why had he chosen those colors? And then it hit him. “Well, they remind me of my best friend and those colors happened to be what I saw a lot of when I talked to him today. I guess they also are colors that are always in my head because they remind me of s-some place I used to be in.” Will cleared his throat and refused to make eye contact with Adrian. He stared at the painting and his mind started to piece together the colors into the background he could never forget, the place of his nightmares _. The Upside Down _ . All of a sudden Will's throat started to close up and he felt his mind shutting down. Just thinking about the Upside Down put him in a bad place. He scrambled out his seat and moved towards the door, trying to get away before he went into a full blown panic attack. Ignoring Adrian calling his name, he pushed through the door and ran towards the nearest bathroom immediately falling to the floor as soon as he was inside. This panic attack felt different, his vision was tunneling and a static noise was filling his head. Through his struggle to breath, he looked up and saw it.

The lights. They were flickering like crazy, seemingly to his inhaling and exhaling. He felt his fingers tingling and it was like he could control everything. Will felt the electricity coursing through his veins and it was all too much. With one final gasp of air, Will pushed his hands into his hair and felt the overhead lights explode. The room had gone completely pitch black and glass was settling in his hair. Before Will could call out for someone, anyone, his eyes slipped shut and he passed out.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had already written chapter two because I literally couldn't wait anymore. Hopefully I keep this writing schedule up. Let me know what you guys think!

Cold.

That’s all Will could register as he slowly woke up. His heart was beating erratically and the blanket that was draped around his shoulders did nothing to still his shaking body. The dry taste is his mouth felt permanent and even the words that struggled out of his mouth where nothing like what they should have sounded like. 

“What-”, He cut off as he turned his aching head to survey the room. He was sleeping on a cot, presumably in the nurse’s office in school and Adrian was perched on a chair next to him, engrossed in the music he was listening to with headphones.  Will struggled to sit up, causing Adrian’s head to snap out in alarm.

“You’re awake,” Adrian gripped Will’s hand as he helped him sit up and Will ignored the tingles he felt as soon as their hands touched.  _ There are more pressing matters at hand _ , Will chided himself. “I followed you to the bathroom and heard you screaming. It was crazy, Will, your entire body was shaking and you were completely passed out. I don’t know what happened, but all lights had broken too. It was almost if-”, Adrian cut himself off with a shake of his head, almost if he didn’t even want to consider the idea of Will somehow being involved with the lights. “Anyways, it took a while for your seizure to end, but thankfully I got the nurse before anything worse happened.”

His blue eyes surveyed Will, who was still trying to wrap his mind over what happened. It had been a few years since his last seizure and this one felt…different. Almost like it wasn’t because of the Upside Down. Thankfully, Will didn’t have to answer any questions that Adrian seemed dying to get out because at that moment, the nurse walked into the room.

Along with Mike, pushing past the nurse to get to Will.

Mike looked on edge, his eyes immediately scanning quickly back and forth over Will as he reached towards him and gripped his shoulders. “I heard some kids talking about what happened earlier, I needed to make sure you were okay. What happened Will?”, his panicked voice was shaky at best and he looked even more tense after the nurse pushed him to the side to check Will’s temperature.

Will looked into Mike’s eyes and instead of having to say anything, Mike knew. He raised his eyebrows at Will and Will immediately nodded.  _ It’s happening again _ .

The nurse cleared her throat, tapping her foot impatiently as Mike’s eyes widened and he seemed to be frozen in place, staring at Will in fear.

“Okay Mr. Wheeler, I’m going to make you leave if you don’t let me do my job.” Mike finally seemed to come back to life and dropped his hands from Will to make room for her. Will immediately felt cold again. “Honey, your temperature is really low, maybe we should call your mom so she can come pick you up.”, the nurse said softly as she looked at Will’s worried eyes.

“No please, don’t call my mom. I swear I’m okay, I just w-was dehydrated.” The nurse didn’t look very convinced, especially because Will couldn’t even get the whole sentence out properly. She relented, however, after Will gazed at her pleadingly. The nurse always had a soft spot for Will, especially since he visited her often enough with black eyes from bullies.

“Alright fine. I’m not going to call your mom,” Will visibly relaxed. “I’m not letting you go back to class though until school is over.” Will faintly smiled at her and the nurse backed away, allowing Mike and Adrian to fill up the space. Adrian had rested his hand on Will’s arm and Mike zoned in on it. He looked confused and fixed his gaze on Adrian finally, almost as if he hadn’t noticed his presence until the hand. Will already knew this was going to be bad. Mike had never been good at sharing friends.

“Who are you?”, Mike asked accusingly, his eyes narrowed at Adrian, who hadn’t taken his eyes off of Will. Before he could answer, Will cut in.

“He’s my friend, Adrian. We met in my art class. He was the one who found me earlier.” , Will’s face was slowly becoming a faint red when he looked at Adrian gleaming at him for calling him a friend. Mike’s face, on the other hand, was slowly becoming red with anger. Even though it felt like lifting lead, Will reached out and grabbed Mike’s arm in warning. Will did not need a new friend to be scared off by Protective Mike right now. Mike relented, glancing apologetically at Will, his anger already slowly starting to subside.

Faintly the trio heard the bell ringing in the hall and the immediate sound of students getting ready to go home, chatter and laughter sifting into the silent room. Adrian glanced at the watch and back at Will, his smile still as bright as ever. “I got to catch the bus. My mom’s going to freak if I miss it on the first day. How ‘bout I take your number so I can, you know, check on you later?”

Will blanched and Mike was giving off a weird vibe next to him. _Someone wanted his number? A new friend/cute boy actually wanted Will’s number? This was new._

“Um yeah that’d be great”, Will stammered and rattled off his home phone number. Adrian scribbled it on his hand with a sharpie and with a wave to Will and a curt nod at Mike, he was gone.

Awkward silence filled the room as Mike stared at the door. Will nervously played with a loose thread on the blanket. “He seems nice”, Mike muttered gruffly and Will could immediately hear how Hopper had left an impact on Mike. Will wanted to laugh to move away from the awkward moment but all that came out of his mouth was a broken one. Mike immediately softened and he took Adrian’s empty seat on the other side of the cot.

He gazed at Will, his eyes shiny as he leaned forward, knowing that Will would talk when he wanted to. Will’s mind immediately flashed to a similar situation with Mike, surrounded by candy in Mike’s basement as he recounted the beginnings of his possession of the Mind Flayer. Will prayed to whoever was out there that this conversation wasn’t going to start the downfall like last time had. He gazed at his fiddling hands and started to explain what had happened.

By the time he got to the end, Mike looked as lost as ever. “I-I don’t understand. Are you having now memories or something? Whatever happened doesn’t sound like something that’s happened before”.

Will nodded and gloomily stared at the white wall opposite him. It was all happening again, except it wasn’t. This was different than last time and Will was too hopeless to think it was going to be any safer. He didn’t even realize he was crying until he felt Mike’s hand slip into his. “It’s going to be okay, Will. Whatever happens, you know you always have-”

They both jumped at the door slamming open as the rest of the party piled into the room with El at the forefront. The four newcomers talked over each other, thankfully aiming their questions at Mike while Will scrubbed the tears off his face. He hated people seeing him weak.

The room was getting louder and louder by the second, Lucas yelling at Dustin who was gesturing wildly at Mike, El and Mike trying to jump into the argument to no avail. Max was doing her own thing, though. She had completely ignored the others and stood next to Will silently wiping his remaining tears on the sleeve of her yellow sweatshirt. Will’s heart warmed.

The party had gotten good at gauging Will’s reactions, but Max was the only one who could read him like a book. She always knew what he wanted and when he needed it. They shared a similar story and at times, it worked out for the two. Max shifted her gaze from Will to the four arguing on the other side of Will, her eyes ablaze.

“If you guys are going to be annoying and fight, then go do it in the hallway. This isn’t helping anything, idiots,” she accused harshly, her eyes flitting to each face. The group immediately shut up at that and all looked apologetic, except Mike who stood up from the chair with a huff. Pulling El behind him, he mumbled something about taking El home and without even a glance at Will, he left.

Will’s heart started to hurt as much as his head did. Lucas rolled his eyes and shrugged, knowing how Mike acts, and frankly Will did too. He understood that Mike hated arguing with his friends and always got stressed out if something bad was happening. He even understood that El did need to get home, otherwise Hopper would send out a police search.

It still hurt.

Will used to remember a time when Mike would never leave his side if something was going on, even if it was just a cold. He missed those days.

Lucas had apparently been asking him questions because when Will stopped thinking about his past, he looked up at the remaining three who were staring at him worriedly. He didn’t even know where to start, but he dutifully filled Max, Dustin, and Lucas in on what had happened. Begrudgingly, none of them seemed phased.

“So you can control lights now?” Dustin’s voice broke through the tense silence as everyone looked at him curiously. He shrugged and started rambling about how the electricity was routed in this building, but Will blocked him out. He stared at his pale hands, which were still shaking and somehow felt like the were burnt at the fingertips. The lights had been the new part in the episode and was already making Will uneasy.

Dustin was also staring at Will’s hands as he continued talking. “Think about it. After the Upside Down, we all thought Will was going to gain powers and nothing happened, maybe something is making those powers come up now.”

Lucas shook his head, ready to rebuttal Dustin, but Max spoke softly. “It could be. Think about it Will. Why do the lights always flicker when ever something with the Upside Down happens? Maybe the piece of the Upside Down is still in you and it sort of harvest itself into a power....” Max trailed off and everyone paused thinking it over.

Will felt bile rising in his throat. “I don’t want to think like that. Maybe I need to take an extra dosage of the medication they gave me, you know? Maybe it’s an effect or something.” Will adamentaly shook his head. “It can’t be powers, it just can’t.” Lucas gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, trying to calm Will down.

"Yeah, maybe. All we can really do is wait it out right?”, Lucas asked as the rest nodded, all looking uncomfortable with this new development.

“I called my mom, Will. She said she can drop you home instead of you having to wait for your mom to get off work.”, Dustin smiled easily at Will and Will gave a small smile back.

Not before long, the group had managed to grab all of Will’s things, get him outside the school without running into any trouble, and safely deposited him at the front steps of his house. Dustin’s mom honked her horn and Dustin waved at Will, making sure he got in the house before driving off.

Already knowing he was home alone since Jonathan and Joyce both were at work, Will crumbled against the door, sobbing loudly into his bookbag.

It was only getting worse. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for leaving comments and kudos I really appreciate it! Enjoy the next chapter!!!

Will knew his day was only going downhill as soon as he heard the front door unlock and his mother's voice filled the room. He had cried himself out sitting at the door and had barely made it to the worn couch where he promptly passed out from exhaustion. 

Granted, now that his mom was home, he did feel more at ease about the whole situation but dread still fluttered in his stomach. His mom had always been overbearing ever since the events took place but Will didn’t blame her. She had been through too much for him to blame her. 

He felt her presence before he even opened his eyes. Her soft hands carded through his hair and Will slowly opened his eyes to see his mom’s worried face. 

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

“S-something happened at school today, another episode.”

Joyce’s face became pale and she got up and moved to sit on the couch where Will buried into her side as he told her what happened. His voice started shaking and his head was hurting again but before he could finish, she gently pulled him up and held his face in her hands. Will wouldn’t look into her eyes until her fierce gaze finally met his. No sign of fear shone in her eyes, her eyebrows knitted together as she gripped his face. 

“Listen to me. Whatever is going on, we will not stop until we figure it out. Nothing is going to harm you again, not if I can help it.” 

Her voice grounded with so much passion that Will himself felt a bit scared by her intensity. He brushed it off though, he knew her anger was directed at whatever was causing him pain and he felt his fear dissipate. 

He nodded his head and sniffled, already feeling immensely better about the whole thing. Joyce pulled him into a hug and he finally let himself relax after the day he was having.

Everything was going to be okay.

All of a sudden a light tapping on the door sounded, in a morse code pattern.  _ S-a-f-e.  _ They both knew that knock. Ever since Joyce and Hopper had started dating a few months back, Hopper and El had been spending a large amount of their time at the Byers residence. Even though they didn’t live with them, their presence was in their house, through socks strewn around the house and little knick knacks that belonged to the Hoppers lying haphazardly on any open space. They were almost like a family. 

Joyce hurried to open the door and hugged El, who was carrying her bookbag and an overnight bag, and gave Hopper a meaningful look after hugging him too. Hopper nodded like he knew what it meant and walked over to the couch, where Will was still sitting, to take off his work boots. His sheriff badge clanked on the table next to the couch as he fixed his gaze on Will. 

“Hey buddy.”

Will gave a slight smile as Hopper ruffled his hair with his large hand and pulled out a lighter to light the cigarette dangling from his mouth. Will had been the only apprehensive one when Joyce had told the boys that she and Hopper were dating and the start of their relationship had been a bit awkward for Will. He never wanted to be in the same room as them and he would always refuse to talk to Hopper, unlike Jonathan who had immediately warmed up to the idea of Hopper becoming a more prominent figure in their lives. 

Will just...couldn’t. 

It took him awhile to realize why and he only figured out when he stopped having dreams about him. 

Bob. 

It was hard to let him go.

Will was trying to be a better son so his mom could finally be happy though, and Hopper was trying too. They had begun to have days were El would stay with Joyce while Hopper and Will (and sometimes Jonathan) would go to Castle Byers and just talk. He wasn’t as nervous about the woods now then when he was younger, and it did help that someone was always with him, so their bonding days took place whenever they could happen. Will was grateful for days like that. 

El was pulling him off the couch so Joyce could sit down next to Hopper and started dragging him down the hall to Jonathan’s room, where she frequently spent the night. He watched her dump her bags unceremoniously on the bed and felt a pang thinking about Jonathan. His brother was currently commuting to his college and most of the time ended up crashing at a friend’s apartment, which came in handy when El and Hopper came over. Will did miss seeing his brother regularly, especially when he needed a break from everything and just wanted to listen to some music. Thankfully, El was here now and always knew how to fill the empty space when he missed his brother.

Will hadn’t even noticed El carefully studying him until she chucked her favorite stuffed bear that Max had won for her at Will’s head. He fumbled in his haste to catch it and she didn’t even bat an eye when he picked it up and threw it back at her. 

“Talk.”

“Okay, okay fine. I don’t know why, but the whole thing that happened with the episode is freaking me out. What if it means that…” Will trailed off, not even bothering to finish his question because they both knew what he was going to say.  _ What if it means that the gate is open again? That our worst nightmare is back again?  _

Eleven shook her head and stared right through him. “No. After Mike took me home, I checked. The gate is still closed, it’s not that. But…” 

Will moved to sit next to her on the bed, nodding at her to continue. She sighed and clutched the bear to her chest. “There was something else there, Will. I don’t what it was or what it wanted, but it looked human. I could feel it on the other side of the gate and it was sort of pacing, trying to look for a way in.” 

“Do you think there’s any way that creature could somehow get in?”

He had never seen El look less confident then she did in that moment. “I don’t know. I wish I could have seen what it was, but Hopper came home and I didn’t have enough time.” She looked frustrated at herself, her grip on the bear tightening as the silence between the friends grew.

“El, can I ask you something?”

“What?”

Will swallowed the lump that was quickly forming in his throat. He had to ask the question now, otherwise he would never be able to. “How did you first know that you had powers?”

El shifted uncomfortably and brought her knees up to her chest. Will knew how much she hated talking about her past in the lab, but this was something he needed to know. 

“I mean I really didn’t have control over it considering Papa basically orchestrated the whole thing, but I think i started to feel my powers when I started having nightmares. In my dreams, I would be controlling things and moving things and I didn’t realize I could even do it until a few days later and Papa forced me to. I used to get really bad nosebleeds too, worse than what I get now.” 

She slowly came to a stop, staring at the carpet and rubbed her nose, almost as if she was expecting a nosebleed now. Will rested his hand on her shoulder. He had heard what he needed to hear. 

Before El could ask him why he wanted to know, Joyce’s voice filled the house as she called them to dinner. Will bolted off the bed, not even bothering to wait for El. He hurried into the bathroom and closed the door, staring at his pale reflection. His eyes were puffy and red from all the crying and he still looked like he hadn’t slept in a million years even though that’s basically all he had done today. Gripping the edges of the counter, Will tried to control his breathing. 

Everything El had told him had been similar to what he had been feeling recently. His nightmares had started up again, now accompanied by splitting headaches, and he still hadn’t told anyone in fear of what it all meant. 

Unfortunately, his fear was becoming a reality.  

He looked down at his hands, which were slowly starting to become more and more numb the longer he took to take in a single breathe. It was all making sense. First the nightmares, then the headaches, now the lights? There was no way he wasn’t developing powers. He just didn’t know what they were. 

Will couldn’t concentrate. He was getting panicked the more he thought about it. His head felt like it was going to explode. Suddenly a white hot pain was shooting from each of his fingers. He couldn’t even see what was happening, all he could see was the bursts of electricity as his hands became more numb.  

He fell to his knees and stared at his hands in horror as the white hot pain surged through him, making him feel like his hands were melting. He cried out in pain.  _ I want this all to stop _ . 

That was all it took for the sparks flying from his hands to slowly wither down, disappearing all together after a few minutes. Will was exhausted and leaned against the bathtub, trying to process whatever had just happened. 

“Honey? Are you coming to dinner?” Joyce worriedly called from outside the door. Will swallowed his fear and shakingly stood up, splashing his face with water before quickly opening the door. His mom was standing on the other side, changed out of her work uniform, wringing her hands through a dish towel as she scanned the room behind him, trying to find something wrong. 

Will shifted from foot to foot, putting on a small fake smile on his face. “I’m okay Mom, just tired from the whole day.” He hid his shaking hands behind his back, already feeling guilt bearing down on him. 

Joyce still looked uneasy but nodded, ushering him into the kitchen, where Hopper and El were sitting around the table, calmly chatting. As Joyce and Will settled in around the table, Will’s mind wouldn’t shut up. All he could picture was the electricity in his hands and he felt sick all over again. Joyce and Hopper were thankfully chatting about their days, leaving Will the opportunity to try and calm down. 

He couldn’t tell anyone what was happening. He couldn’t put anyone through any more pain. He closed his eyes and held his head in his hands, wishing everything would end. 

If only he had opened his eyes. 

Maybe then he would have noticed El sitting across from him, staring at him in concentration. 

Maybe he would have noticed her wipe the blood running from her nose, her face shifting to fear after she moved her eyes from Will.

Maybe if he had looked up, he would have realized the problem was becoming much more bigger than his own.


	4. Chapter 4

Will thanked whatever god was out there for making the first day of school on a Friday. 

He didn’t have to sit through some boring class, barely paying attention as the teacher droned on about whatever they would learn. On the down side, he really didn’t have a distraction to not think about…

_ The thing. _

It was Saturday morning and Will didn’t have the energy to move from his bed. He had bundled himself up in more than a few blankets, hoping the heat would keep him from freaking out again and going all super villain without even realizing it. His sleep had been on and off, varying between violently shaking with panic to drifting off only to hear a noise and be wide awake. 

Will's whole life had been flipped upside down yet again and he couldn't tell anybody. Joyce had watched over him like a hawk when the family had gathered in the living room to watch some television. At one point, Will had simply sneezed and his mom had rushed over, wrapping her arms around him. He couldn't take it anymore, retreating to his bedroom where he stayed the rest of the night. 

El had tried to get him to talk to her, but she knew that he wasn’t going to talk. At least, not yet. Will really didn’t want to worry anyone he cared about, especially everyone who had done so much for him in the past.

He let out a sigh and rolled over onto the ground, dragging all the blankets with him.  _ Maybe if I laid here, I wouldn’t have to deal with this mess.  _ Before he could give in and just let himself sink into the carpet, a sharp knock came from the bedroom door. 

“Hey, I know you’re awake.” 

Will immediately perked up at the sound of that voice, throwing his blankets off and scrambling to open the door. Jonathan. He was carrying a battered bookbag on his shoulder, packed with different college books. The easy smile on his face did little to hide his worry, but Will ignored it. He was just glad his brother was home. Jonathan led the way into the kitchen, shrugging his bookbag off at the table and immediately falling into a seat next to Will. Hopper was sitting at the head of the table reading the newspaper while Joyce was helping El make pancakes. 

He couldn’t stop smiling every time he looked at Jonathan, though. His brother looked more sleep deprived then the week before, but he at least looked like he had showered. Jonathan had told him college was rough but worth it. Will had yet to actually believe him. 

“So, how was the first day? Anything else exciting happen?” Jonathan winked at Will, dodging the punch aimed at his arm. Will rolled his eyes, of course his mom had told him about the episode before he could even get the chance to settle in. 

“I mean besides all that, it was fine. Classes seem like they’ll be easy,” Jonathan nodded along with his story, hands already moving to eat the pancakes that El had handed to him. She came over to Will next and dropped his plate a little too loudly. Will didn’t even have to look up at her to know she was mad about him ignoring her yesterday. 

Will wasn’t going to let that change anything, though. He’d rather have her mad at him then in danger. He drowened his pancakes in syrup as he continued talking to Jonathan. 

“I made a new friend, too.” At that, both Joyce and Jonathan looked up at Will in surprise. He had never before told them about new friends. His motto: the party was enough. Will didn’t want to get anyone else involved in his messy life. 

Jonathan fixed him with a bright smile, his kind eyes conveying his happiness. “That’s great, Will. What’s their name?”

“His name’s Adrian. He sat next to me in art class, he’s really good at painting. He was even the one who helped me with my episode.” 

Will blushed, thinking back to Adrian taking his phone number.  _ Maybe he’ll call today. _

When Will looked up from his plate, Jonathan was still grinning at him, but something else was in his face too. He looked almost  _ smug. _ Will knitted his eyebrows together and hurriedly excused himself from the table, putting away his dishes in the dishwasher. Did Jonathan know about him liking boys? It could have happened, when Will was hiding a secret, he sometimes tended to unconsciously drop hints about it. Considering the fact that Will’s been holding in the secret since the day he was born, he wasn’t even sure if he could rule out that option. 

“You ready to go to Mike’s? Hopper’s going to drop us off before he goes to the police department.” El was fixing him with her practiced expression, clearly trying to keep anger and worry out of her voice. Just thinking about that put Will’s mind into a frenzy. 

Whenever the party was free, they always planned a day where they all hung out at Mike’s house. They would either play D&D or watch movies, specifically ones that El, in Dustin’s words, “needed to see or she couldn’t be considered human”. It was normally fun, especially because Will knew he was running out of time with his friends before everyone split up for college. However, today was going to be different. They would probably want to talk about what had happened. El would tell everyone about the gate, Mike would become all flustered and start yelling at everyone, Dustin would call Steve to get advice, and Lucas would try to keep everyone in order. All the while Will would probably end up sitting in the corner, feeling uncomfortable about not telling his friends about his powers and for getting them all worried again. 

He needed a break. 

“You know what, I actually thought I might go to the library today. One of my teachers assigned us this huge paper that’s due on Monday and I really got to start working on it.”

“Oh yeah? What class is it?” 

Will fumbled with his words, his mind reeling through his list of classes thinking of the best choice. 

“Oh, um, English. Yeah, Mrs. Ducer really hates being behind schedule.” He laughed awkwardly and tried to move around El who had cornered him against the fridge. She crossed her arms and looked pointedly at him, her brows furrowed and for a minute her eyes flashed with betrayal, but then the look disappeared. 

“Friends don’t lie, Will. Remember that.” She turned on her heel and stalked off into her room, slamming her door. Will sighed, trying to push his feelings of guilt down, heading to the front door. He grabbed his book bag that he had thrown on the floor the day before and turned around to look at his family at the table. 

Joyce, Jonathan, and Hopper immediately started fiddling with whatever, pretending to not have just watched whatever had taken place between him and El. Will rolled his eyes. “I’ll be at the library until 2 pm and don’t worry I’ll ask the librarian and call you as soon as I’m safely inside."

Will rattled off like a routine, already pulling the door open and reaching for his bike that he kept on the front porch. His mom waved him off, the last thing he saw before he shut the door and took off to the library. 

He vaguely took in his surroundings as he flew down the street, not having to worry about cars passing him on an early Saturday morning. His mind replayed everything that had just happened. Why couldn’t he have made a better excuse? He mentally facepalmed and tried to focus on his pedaling. It had taken him a while to get comfortable again on his bike, but being driven everywhere was even worse. He missed the freedom he got from riding his bike, the wind whipping through his hair, his muscles burning after winning races against Dustin. 

He missed being a carefree kid the most. 

The buildings around him started to get closer together and not before long, he had reached the library, a tall brick building with people streaming in and out of it. After locking his bike and making sure he called his mom, Will sat in the science aisle with a pile of books that he had grown to love. Mr. Clarke had recommended the books to him over the years and even though he read them word for word, he always found himself drawn to them whenever he was at the library. He pulled up the first one, a book about space, and started flipping through the worn pages, finally landing on a drawing of the planets. Will tore a page from one of his school notebooks and hunched over, already focused on trying to draw his own version. 

A faint sniffling broke through his concentration. Nobody was ever in the science aisle, expect for Will and his friends. Through the books on the shelf across from him, he saw a figure sitting on the ground, head ducked between their legs. Will hated knowing someone was crying. Slowly, he abandoned his drawing and wandered around the bookshelf, approaching the person as if they were a scared animal. Finally, the person looked up at him, and Will startled. 

“Adrian?” He remembered those bright blue eyes that stared back at him, now filled with tears that flowed down his cheeks. Adrian hiccupped and continued crying, even when Will cautiously sat down next to him and turned so that he was facing him. “A-are you okay?” 

Adrian’s bottom lip quivered as he struggled to inhale. “No I just…I didn’t know where else to go.” 

Alarms immediately went off in Will’s head. He remembered saying those exact words to his friends over the years whenever Lonnie had decided to get drunk. This can’t be good. 

“Can you tell me what happened?” 

Adrian gingerly turned his head to the side and Will gasped. The whole right side of his face was bruised. Looking at him head on, it would have been like looking at two sides of a coin. Will carefully reached out and touched his face, snatching his hand back when Adrian winced in pain. 

“I was going to the movie theater and these kids from school saw me and started calling me offensive slurs and I tried to fight back, I really tried. Obviously, it didn’t work.” Adrian buried his face into his arms and sobbed louder. 

Will certainly knew that story. Starting with Troy and his goons, the bullying only got worse down the years.Thankfully, he had avoided the bullies so far, especially now that El was constantly with him. 

Not everyone was as lucky as he was. 

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. People can really suck sometimes. I used to get bullied too, people used to call me fairy and zombie boy. After a while, you kind of get used to it I guess.” 

Adrian stared at him quizzically. “You know, they called me fairy too. I don’t know what’s wrong with them. So what if I am?” 

Will chanced a look at Adrian, his heart beating so loudly that he was sure the librarians would come over and tell him to shut up. “Wait. Are you saying that you’re….” 

“Gay? Yeah. I mean not that many people know. When my family moved here, I decided I had had enough of hiding out and not being honest with myself. I needed to own it. Look where it got me.” Adrian laughed bitterly and wiped the tears off his face. 

Will’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. His mind had gone blank and he couldn’t even breathe. He grabbed Adrian’s arm so tightly that he looked at Will in surprise. 

“Adrian. I know we just met like yesterday, but I have to tell you.” Will’s heart filled and tears blurred his vision. “I like boys. I’m gay, too” Will felt giddy and didn’t even register Adrian’s arms wrapping around him. The boys sat like that, quietly laughing and sniffling in the secluded science section. 

Finally, Adrian pulled away and looked at Will, a smile spread across his face. It looked like it hurt, but he didn’t seem to mind. “Will, that’s amazing. I’m glad you told me.” 

The two boys leaned back against the bookshelves with smiles stretched across their faces, both disappearing into their own thoughts. A happy silence filled the area and they sat there, both thinking the same thing.

_ I’m not alone anymore. _

To Will, it truly was a good omen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally, I've been acting lazy and didn't feel like writing the whole weekend :( I'm sorry!!! I'm going to try and update the story as soon as possible to make up for it. Please enjoy this chapter though!

The last few months had flown by before anyone could even blink. In a rush of studying and snow, Will had just taken the last exam before he was officially on Christmas break and he couldn’t have been happier.

“Hey, we’re still hanging out to finish the projects right?”

Adrian was leaning against the locker next to Will’s, looking snug in a baby blue sweater, clutching a notebook that Will knew held the drawing that was to be completed for their art class before the end of break. Will finally collected everything he needed and slammed his locker shut, nodding back at Adrian in affirmation.

Ever since their conversation at the library, the two boys had become close, much closer then Will thought he could be with anyone. They had spent as much time together as they could, going over to each other’s houses and learned they had a lot of things in common.

Their favorite topic was crushes.

Finally, Will felt safe enough to discuss something he had held in tight and it was so good to be able to sit down and talk about guys, especially Will’s biggest crush. He talked about how nice and loyal Mike was, his warm chocolate brown eyes, and how he always got butterflies whenever Miked laughed at his jokes. Adrian was an excellent listener, giving him encouraging nods and being the rock that Will needed to talk so openly about himself. Will still hadn’t told him about what had happened the first day of school, or why kids called him “Zombie Boy”, but Adrian was smart enough to know not to push. Besides, Adrian had a lot to discuss on the topic of boys so whenever they could, they’d spend a whole day just talking about the cute guys that Adrian saw on a daily basis.

That was what the pair was currently doing, on their way to the art classroom to grab some supplies that their teacher said they could take home to finish up their assignments. Adrian was talking in hushed tones about how one boy he had been eyeing helped him up when he fell in gym class when Will spotted him.

Mike was slumped against the wall opposite what was El’s last class of the day. He was wearing a fuzzy looking sweater and his lanky legs folded against themselves as he tried to balance against the wall.

Will’s heart stammered and he tugged on Adrian's arm, trying to flatten them behind the row of lockers before Mike could see them.

It was too late. Mike stood up, peering around the corner and his face went through so many emotions before it landed on a completely guarded expression. Will's stomach churned. He cleared his throat and let Adrian lead him over to Mike, who refused to look into his eyes.

“Hey Mike, how's it going?” Adrian's clear voice rang out in the empty hallway as he and Will drew closer.

Mike gave a half shrug and finally made eye contact with Will. “Just out here waiting for El.”

Before Adrian could ask who he was talking about the classroom doors started flying open, kids pouring out as people headed to their lockers. El came out of her classroom too and ran to Mike, wrapping herself around him in a long hug.

Will looked away, feeling Adrian squeeze his arm in comfort.

El gave a loud cough and stared right at Will, hands resting on her hips as she silently took in the boys in front of her.

Will squirmed under her gaze, already feeling immense guilt take over. These last few months had been incredible getting to know Adrian, but it did put him in a tough spot with the party. He had stopped going to as many hang outs, using lame excuses and not replying at all when they all communicated on their walkie-talkies. Last night, Mike had even tried calling him on his house phone and Will had only said about two words before saying he had to go. Although his friends never said anything about his abandonment, Will knew they were hurt.

It was especially hard with El, who was constantly at his house, so he always made sure to go over to Adrian’s house to hang out and leave before El even showed up.

Will didn't know if he could keep it up anymore.

“Are you still coming over to Lucas’s house for the sleepover or are you just going to ignore us until after Christmas break?”

Will blushed and scuffed his shoe against the floor, not wanting to look into El’s fiery glare.

Every single year since they were freshmen, the gang always had a sleepover the first day of Christmas break. It rotated between houses based on whose parents got the least annoyed with them staying up all night. They had never broken the tradition, even going so far as moving it to New Year’s once when Max had to leave town to visit her dad in California. It was a huge part of their friendship, yet Will felt a little nervous about going.

Adrian nudged him in a go-on gesture and Will panicked. “Well, um, I was going to go to Adrian’s house after school so probably n-”

“Why don’t you bring him to the sleepover?”

Mike made a squeak of protest and looked at El in bewilderment. Will didn’t blame him, this was a surprise to both of them. El had never been one to enjoy having outsiders invade a sacred tradition.

Adrian stepped forward a bit and gave El a full smile, which she reluctantly returned.

“Yeah, that’d be awesome. I always wanted to get to know Will’s other friends.” He poked Will’s side and out of the corner of his eye he saw Mike silently fuming.

As El gave Adrian details about the sleepover, Will and Mike stared at each other, a silent agreement passing between the two of them. Mike did not want to meet any new friends and Will certainly did not want to mix the most important people in his life together.

It was way too soon.

Before either of them could complain about the situation, El was tugging on a miffed-looking Mike’s arm in a finalized way. Will watched them walk down the hall, Mike whispering angrily to El as they went out the doors before he turned to Adrian. He didn’t look at all freaked out about the whole conversation, granted he didn’t need to be. Will still shoved his shoulder though and Adrian looked at him in confusion.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no. I just...Why did you say yes?”

“What did you want me to say to your friend, ‘hell no’? Will, look, it’s going to be great. We’ll all get along and make gingerbread houses and sing kumbaya around the fireplace, okay? It’ll be fine.”

Will still felt queasy as they stood outside, waiting for Jonathan to come pick them up.

This was going to be a long night.

 

* * *

 

By the time Will and Adrian arrived at Lucas’s house, it seemed like the sleepover was in full swing. They had been given a ride by Joyce, who was still idly waiting in the driveway to make sure nothing would happen. Will didn’t mind, now that the weather was colder, his nightmares were getting more vivid and it was a bit jarring to tell himself that it was all in the past. Especially now with his unexplored powers.

Before Adrian could even lift his arm up to knock, the door flew open, Erica smiling slyly at them, wearing a Santa hat and holding a mug of hot chocolate. Will smiled at her and poked her on his way in, avoiding Erica’s shove back at him. Surprisingly, Erica had always liked him the best out of Lucas’s friends and Will liked playing the role of an older brother.

“Everyone’s in the living room, better hurry up before Dustin finishes all the hot chocolate and pisses himself.”

Adrian let out a guffaw and Erica regarded Adrian shyly, blushing as she introduced herself to him. Adrian was as charming as ever and that seemed to make Erica blush even more. Will held back a chuckle. _Did Erica have a crush on Adrian?_

If only she knew the truth.

Will shrugged off his winter coat and followed the sounds of laughter to the living room, where the group had been blasting _A Christmas Story_ on the television. El was sitting closest to the tv, eyes not moving from the screen as she shoved handfuls of popcorn into her mouth. Max was slumped against her, yelling at Dustin who was, indeed, chugging the container of hot chocolate that Lucas’s mom always made for them. Lucas and Mike were sitting on the couch behind the three, conversing over what looked to be a layout of their next D&D session.

Dustin spotted him first.

“Will and random kid! It's the end of exams!” Dustin plowed towards Will and gave him a bear hug, tackling Adrian into the hug too. All the other friends made noises of acknowledgement at them before going back to what they were all doing. When Will finally managed to disentangle himself from Dustin, he pushed Adrian towards the couch, sitting next to Lucas who gave him their legendary back-patting hug.

“Hey, who's this?”

“This is my friend, Adrian.”

“Well, any friend of Will is a friend of mine.”

On the other side of Lucas, Will heard Mike scoff and watched him start to throw all his writing supplies into the bag at his feet. Lucas continued talking to Adrian and Will moved over to sit next to Mike.

Will's face melted into a smile when he noticed the reindeer sweater that Mike's mom made him wear every year, no matter how old he was. He gently plucked at a loose thread on the sleeve teasingly, but Mike didn't even look up at him. He continued glowering until Mike looked like he was going to burst if he didn't get to talk.

“Why did you agree to bring _him?”_

Will flinched at Mike's tone, already rushing to apologize, but he stopped himself.

Sure, he hadn’t wanted to introduce the two sides of his life so soon, especially because of what they stood for. The party represented the past and Adrian the future. His future was bright and freeing while his past meant close-knit and fear. Will hadn’t wanted to see what would happen when the two joined into the present.

Looking over at Adrian, who was listening intently to Lucas’s story, Will didn’t feel any regrets. All he wanted to do was to gather everyone in a group hug so he could feel the love thrumming through his veins.

Instead, he did the next best thing. Will scooted closer to Mike and carefully laid his head on Mike's shoulder.

“Mike, you know you are always going to be my best friend right? No one is going to take your place. Crazy together, remember? It's always just us.”

Mike sighed. He leaned his head on top of Will's and Will tried to control his breathing. They sat like that until Max slithered up on the other side of Will, trying to fit onto the packed couch as she draped a blanket over all three of them. Dustin's warm laughter mixed with Adrian's filled the room as the movie continued on in the background.

This. This was Will's happy place, surrounded by people he loved and who loved him. His mind cleared and he closed his eyes, feeling Mike’s arm pull both Will and Max closer, finally feeling like he could breathe.

 

That’s when he heard the television crackle and Eleven’s screams filled the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised here's the next chapter. Hope you like it :)

The room was in absolute chaos.

Everyone on the couch had shoved each other aside in their haste to reach El, who sat on the floor, hands clutching her ears as she continued to scream. Will reached her first and grabbed her face, trying to pry her fingers off to calm her down. The others felt like vultures around them, moving around in circles, panicking and yelling at each other. He felt Mike kneel next to him, his hands shaking as he gently shook El’s shoulders.

“El, can you hear me? What’s happening?” His voice was rising louder and louder the more El screamed and the tv continued to crackle in the background, a steady hum that seemed to be blocking out all the other noises. Will felt a headache building with the drone.

Mike and Will were still trying to get El to stop screaming and he could hear Lucas’s dad rush into the room, Lucas and Dustin explaining that El was just having a nightmare.

Lucas’s dad must have left the room because the noise of everyone yelling over each other took place again and Will felt his fingers tingling. He yanked them away from El’s face just in time to see a spark shoot out. _This can’t be happening right now._

His head was foggy, but he pushed through, taking to words to calm El down who was slowly starting to lessen her screams.

The static in the tv was only getting louder, pulsing in time to her screams. Will couldn’t take it anymore.

All of a sudden Will’s pointer finger sparked out, the lights flickered, and the tv shut off with a sharp pop.

His mind cleared and he ignored the pain in his hand and exhaustion he felt to continue talking El down. Finally, her screams subsided and she fell into Will’s arms, crying harshly as the room seemed to take a collective breath. No one said anything, sitting in silence to take in the situation as El sobbed into Will’s shirt, Max rubbing circles on her back. It took a minute but she eventually calmed down enough to let Lucas wrap a blanket around her shoulders. They all sat in a circle, including Adrian, who looked so scared that Will reminded himself to ask him how he felt later. Finally El spoke, her voice rough and barely heard.

She looked right at Will.

“I saw it. I-In the tv. It was _there_ , invading my mind and I couldn't control anything.”

Will tensed and immediately thought back to their conversation on the first day of school. The creature, walking by the gates, El telling him it couldn’t get in.

Yet…

It was here.

Will shuddered. Lucas shared a look with Max and cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry. _What_ was there?”

“A few months ago, I saw something at the gates. I don’t know what it was, but I don’t think I could ever forget it. I told Will about it and at the time, I thought it wouldn’t be able to get in. I thought we were safe.” El broke off into a sob.

No one made a sound. A tense, uneasy emotion washed over the group, leaving Will feeling vulnerable and even more exhausted. His hand was shaking from when it had sparked out. He hid it under his thigh and focused back in on the conversation that had struck up.

“-the more details we have of it, the more we know what to look for. Maybe it’s in the manual?” Mike stretched behind him and pulled out the Dungeons and Dragons monster manual, flipping through it as El started to describe it.

“It looked like a skeleton, almost, with jewels in its eyes and-”

“Found it.”

The group sat with baited breath as Mike skimmed through whatever he had seemed to find. His face grew pale and his fingers trembled as he flipped the book around to show the others.

There it was.  

_The Lich._

“It says it's a powerful spellcaster who avoids death,” Max read, eyes narrowed as she scanned the page, “and to become a Lich, it uses a Phylactery, where it keeps its soul. The only way to destroy it is to find the Phylactery and destroy that. It is one of the deadliest monsters...”

She didn’t even try to finish her sentence.

Everyone else crowded in closer to look at the picture of the Lich. Will’s throat went dry and his entire body shook as he stared into the glowing eyes, the skeleton on the page smiling back, the gems seeming to glittering in its mouth. It looked exactly as El had described it.

“It's pure evil. It doesn't even fear _death_. How...how are we supposed to kill it?” Dustin's voiced wobbled as he looked around the group, but no one had anything.

“We have to tell Hopper and Joyce.”

Will froze. “No way. I'm not letting my mom get hurt again. Please don't tell her, I-I don't know what would happen if she got involved, she's already been through enough.”

“Who else can we tell then?”

“Steve.”

Dustin's determined voice seemed to echo in the room as the party flashed back to that year, how Steve had protected them then and never stopped.

He was their best bet.

That was all it took for everyone to spring into action. Max and Mike helped El up and walked her slowly outside to Lucas's old, beat up van while Dustin and Lucas ran to go tell his parents that they would be taking El home and staying overnight at her house. Will walked around the living room, cleaning things up and trying to push down the sense of dread building inside him.

Someone cleared his throat behind him.

“I have no clue what any of that was, but you better start explaining,” Adrian’s voice shook and Will turned around in time to see him wipe tears from his eyes. “Please, I-I don’t know even... Does this have to do with your episode that you had?”

Will sighed and pulled him towards the door, grabbing their coats from the kitchen. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to get you involved in any of this, it’s too dangerous.”

Adrian stopped him from rushing around and the intensity in his eyes gave Will pause. “I don’t care about being safe. I need to know the truth. Now.”

Outside, Lucas honked the horn and Adrian tugged his sleeve until they were both strapped into the van and before long the group was on their way to Steve’s, Lucas driving with Dustin in the passenger seat. Mike and El sat in the middle row, leaving Will, Adrian, and Max in the back. Everyone settled in for the long ride. Finally, Will turned to Adrian and began to talk.

“Well, it all started when I died.”

* * *

 

“Wow. I don’t even know what to say.”

Will, along with help from the others, had just given a briefing of the upside down and all the events that took place because of it. Adrian had stayed silent the entire time, only nodding to encourage them to continue. Will felt bad for him. It was one thing to actually go through it, but hearing it all said out loud? They sounded absolutely insane.

Will glanced at Adrian, who kept shaking his head and staring straight ahead. “Do you believe us? I mean it’s okay if you don’t, I know everything sounds fak-”

Will stuttered when Adrian wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in close. He pulled back enough to look at Will and all his face held was a look of pure admiration.  
“You guys are so unbelievably strong. I can’t even put into words how heroic you all are,” Adrian looked around the car at each of Will’s friends. Finally his eyes landed on Will again and he gripped his shoulders. “What you've been through I-I don't even know how you did it. You are the toughest person I've ever met, Will.”

Will blushed and he knew that everyone else was feeling the same way. Adrian didn't think they were crazy.

They were _heroes_.

It meant a lot to hear someone say that.

“We’re here guys.” Lucas finally announced as the car maneuvered onto the gravel driveway. Will peered out the window at the darkening skies and saw the glow of the porch light coming from Steve’s house. It was weird being here.

Ever since he left for college, Steve had moved around the Midwest, bouncing back and forth to Hawkins every couple of years. Almost a year ago, he stopped moving and his parents had bought him a small house in the outskirts of town, where he could “babysit for pay this time” whenever their little group of misfits needed him. Dustin visited here the most, occasionally Will with Jonathan, but for the most part, Steve stayed out of the town and instead hung around out here.

Will could understand why though when everyone finally piled out of the car. The sky was a dark blue, and the snow underneath their feet was not walked on, a clean sheet of white, the world around them dead silent. They all trudged through the snow, huddling on the porch while Dustin banged on the door. The light switched on and there stood Steve, running his fingers through his still thick hair, looking at them in bewilderment.

“Uh, hey, what’s going on? Is everyone okay?” No one said anything. Instead they all looked at El, who stepped up to stand in front of Steve. She had recovered quickly, her hands bunched into fists. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she wore a look of pure anger. “We need your help. We need to kill another monster.”

Steve smiled.

“Now that, that I can get behind. Come on in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg so I honestly know nothing about Dungeons and Dragons so I had to do a bit of research on the monster. Sorry if I have any false info!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm about to get really sappy so be warned:  
> I just want to say, this whole week has been really rough. I found out I didn't get into my top college and I was feeling pretty shitty and like a failure. Then a bunch of other things happened, and I really was going down a road I didn't want to. I really needed to hear something positive because I was in a bad place and you guys all helped a lot. Seriously, every comment, every time someone read this, it was like a gift for me and I need you all to know how much that helped me. So from the bottom of my heart, I love you all and thank you for sticking with my story <3

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Steve said as he paced in front of the seven teenagers who were sitting around the dining table, “A monster that Eleven saw at the gates has somehow got in and showed up in Lucas's tv?” He stopped pacing and looked pointedly at them. “Who's the idiot who let it in?”

Eleven huffed and rolled her eyes. “No one did. It must have gotten in using it's powers or through a break in the gate, I don't know. All I know is that if it can get past the gates, it's smart.”

Dustin let out a dry laugh. “Damn right it's smart. I remember the Lich being in a D&D session once and the whole party died.”

No one else laughed.

“That's it. You guys sit right here, I'll be right back.” Steve hurried out of the room, leaving the group to sit there in their thoughts.

Adrian leaned into Will and whispered in his ear. “I know we're in a life or death situation right now, but why didn't you tell me that Steve was _hot_?”

Will couldn't help it, he burst out laughing, everyone else glancing at him like he was going insane.

Mike turned to glare at Adrian. “What's so funny?”

Will wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and quieted down. “Oh nothing it was just a-”

“Alright kids, Hopper is on his way.” Steve said as he came back in the room, pulling a sweater over his head on his way in.

Sounds of protest rose in the room, especially from Will and El, but Steve didn't want to hear any of it. He grabbed the remote and turned on the tv, already flipping to a show that he knew they all liked.

Just looking at the tv brought the memory of that feeling Will felt earlier. He looked down at his finger that had sparked and the tip of his finger was burned. He could still picture the sparks flying out and messing the tv, the pain and energy that coursed through him.

He had to figure out his powers fast, otherwise it might end up hurting someone he cared about instead of just a machine.

Finally, after watching for another hour, the sound of Hopper's truck pulling into the driveway and doors slamming alerted everyone that he had arrived. Dustin was sitting closest to the front window and he peeked out to check. Will heard him wince and he turned around with an apologetic look aimed at Will.

Before he could ask him what happened, Steve was opening the door and in walked Hopper, dressed in his chief uniform and smoking a cigarette. That’s when Will spotted who was coming in behind him.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” Will called nervously as he made his way over to Joyce, who was looking around the room in panic. When she heard his voice and made eye contact with him, she rushed over and pulled him in close. Will hugged her back and felt worry grow in his chest.

She let go of him and went over to El, who was sitting next to Hopper, and gave her a hug too.

“Why didn't either of you tell me what was going on? You know I told you guys that whatever happened, we would all get through it together right?”

Will sheepishly nodded and looked at El who was shrugging and not making eye contact with anyone. Finally, Will spoke. “We didn't want you getting hurt again, Mom. Everything that happened with me, and then Bob… We just didn't want to put you through that again.”

Her hand gripped El's as she looked deep into Will's eyes. “Both of you. Don't worry about me. I know what I'm getting myself into. The only thing I care about is protecting you.” She looked around the room. “All of you. So, let's beat this monster so we can all go back to a normal life.”

The tension in the room subsided.

It was good to know Will and his friends weren't alone.

Hopper finally noticed Adrian sitting at the table.

“What are you doing here? We have to get you home.” Both Joyce and Hopper rose off the couch, already arranging plans, but Adrian stood up and stood his ground.

“I know about everything. I want to help.”

Joyce gave a small smile and walked over to him, pulling him into a hug as she whispered in his ear. Will was close enough to hear the whole thing.

“You're such a brave boy, Adrian. I'm glad Will has a friend like you.”

Will couldn't have agreed more.

Hopper huffed and stood up from the couch too, standing in front of the window. “Alright, you want to be involved in this? Don’t do anything dumb.”

Adrian nodded and stepped in front of Joyce to stand in front of Hopper.

“I promise, chief.”

Hopper smiled and patted his back.

“Guess we need to add a new position for D&D eh, Mike?” Dustin nudged Mike who muttered something under his breath and pushed him off.

Suddenly, Steve loudly clapped. “Enough messing around. We got to figure out what the fu-,” he looked nervously at Hopper , “-dge is going on and what we're up against.” Everyone sat in silence, building up the animosity in the room. Max's quiet voice filled the space.

“How do we know where it is?”

“We don't. We have to find it, but I'm not sure how.”

“Maybe it'll appear somewhere?”

The room grew uneasy as they all pictured what that even meant. Will's mind flashed with turmoil, his own memories of his time in the Upside Down and being the Mind Flayer. Now he even had these powers to deal with it. Will shuddered.

Joyce cleared her throat. “It seems like all we can really do is wait it out. See where it strikes next, and go from there.”

A collective nod happened around the room, but everyone was still uneasy.

El leaned forward on the couch. “We still need to come up with a plan about what to do when it comes back, though. We _need_ to be ready.”

That was all it took. Lucas and Hopper crowded around the table, discussing the best ways to keep the town from knowing anything. Dustin, Adrian, and El sat on the couch while El explained more of her powers to an awe-struck Adrian. Joyce, Max and Steve went down to the basement, rummaging around for supplies they would most likely need. That left Mike and Will.

Mike smiled shyly at Will and plopped down next to him on the couch, sitting unusually close.

They both watched as El used her powers to hit Dustin in the face with pillows, causing Adrian to laugh. It was a nice moment to watch.

“You know, Will, I'm really sorry,” Mike said, turning to face him, “You were right about always being best friends. It's just I got angry that you were hanging out with Adrian a lot and ignoring me.” He coughed and blushed a little. “I-I mean ignoring the rest of us.”

Will smiled a little, but sadness crept into his expression. “I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to ignore you, I just wanted to be friends with someone who didn't know my whole story. Someone who saw me as normal.”

Mike grabbed his hand, his sweaty palm wrapping around Will's. “I get it. It's okay. I mean, sure, it's going to take awhile to get over the fact that you won't be able to hang out with me all the time, but I think over time I'll get used to it.”

Will smiled at Mike, his hazel eyes meeting his brown ones and it seemed like they were in their own little bubble. All Will could see was Mike’s warm smile, his face seemingly radiating what Will wanted to see as love. Suddenly a pillow flew into Mike's face and Dustin was snorting with laughter as El tried to discreetly wipe her bloody nose on her sleeve.

Mike got a cute glint in his eye and he let go of Will's hand to chuck the pillow back over to the other group. El stuck out her tongue at Mike, him doing it right back, and reality crashed into Will. He was never going to have that with Mike.

“Why don't you go over there and sit with them. I'm sure El needs you right now.” Will prayed Mike didn't notice the tinge of bitterness in his tone.

Mike looked at him in confusion. “Why would I? I want to sit here with you.” He scuffed his shoe against the floor and looked down. “Besides, it's not like we need to be together every single second.”

“I thought that was one of the perks of being in a relationship,” Will joked but Mike didn't laugh.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “You should probably know, um… A few weeks after school started, El and I broke up. We both want different things and it was beginning to feel like a burden to do all the coupley things.”

Will's heart stopped. “Wait, what? Why didn't either of you tell me?”

Mike looked at Will sheepishly. “I mean it's not like you were the easiest person to track down. We told everyone else when we were hanging out once and they’re all cool with it.”

Will nodded, and stared at a tear in his jeans, thoughts spinning all over the place.

Mike's leg started jiggling, causing the whole couch to shake. “Actually, I've been meaning to tell you something. I don't even know how you feel about it, but it's something I have to get off my chest. Will, I-”

Both of them froze when they heard the sound of Joyce calling Will's name from the basement. Will didn't move though. He sat exactly where he was, staring at Mike in earnest. If there was a chance that what he was about to say was something that Will had waited years to hear, his mom could wait for a few more minutes.

He nodded at Mike to go on, but just looking at him, Will knew he wasn't going to say anything else. He had slumped back on to the couch, arms crossed protectively with a blush spreading across his cheeks. “You better go see what she wants.”

Finally, Will nodded and moved off the couch, stopping and turning around to face Mike, who still looked like a deflated party balloon. He opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out. He didn't even know what to say. Quick as lightning, Mike hurried over to Lucas and Hopper, engaging in their conversation as if he had been there the whole time.

Will watched him for a second, but turned and headed for the basement, not knowing that those adoring brown eyes that he loved so much were watching him too.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNING: graphic violence, bullying
> 
> These chapter might be a bit graphic so please be careful and don't read it if you don't want to :)

The next few weeks felt like a ticking time bomb. Christmas came and went, no one truly enjoying the holiday with knowledge that everything would sooner or later destruct. They were all on edge, constantly checking in on each other and tuning in to the news about any unusual activity in their small town. None of them seemed to raise any alarms thankfully, most of the stories being about people losing power because of the snow storms that happened. While they all waited for disaster to strike, the party, now including Adrian, met every day after school to do more research about the Lich and what they were up against.

Unsurprisingly, none of it looked good for them.

Just thinking about it made chills run down his spine. The Lich was a legendary monster in the D&D world, a wizard of sorts. It had powers, just like El, and Will didn’t even want to think about what would happen if her powers weren’t a match for the Lich’s. Even though El constantly reassured all of them that she could do it, no one was willing to be that optimistic.

School had eventually rolled back around, giving the kids a welcome distraction from the supernatural in their lives. It truly was a weird time to be thankful for school, but none of them wanted to face the truth. 

That's why Will was standing at his locker, rushing to go over the formulas for his math test that he was taking in an hour when Adrian and Max came bounding up to him. Adrian had fit in perfectly with their group of six, forming bonds with each and every one of them. Mike, much to his own dismay and Adrian’s amusement, considered him his study partner. They both had physics together and, more often than not, were studying at each other's houses whenever Will wanted to hang out with one or the other.

Will would jokingly call them annoying, but secretly he loved it. Two of his best friends were finally getting along and, although Will always yelled at him, Adrian would constantly question Mike about Will. So far, all he learned was that Mike adored Will and in his words: anyone with eyes already knew that. 

Max gently shoved him to get his attention and Will finally snapped out of it, looking at the pair amusingly. Both were giggling and going on about something that the teacher had done in their History class and for the most part Will was ignoring them, choosing to focus on his math study guide.

The bell rang suddenly and all the students standing in the hallway flew off to get to their classes on time. Max shouldered her bookbag and rushed off too, calling back to Adrian and Will that she would see them later.

Will was too busy shoving everything into his book bag to see Adrian gasp at his hands. He leaned forward and pulled them away from Will’s books, holding them closer to his face to inspect them, ignoring Will’s sounds of protest.

“Will, what is this? What happened to your hands?”

Adrian turned Will’s palms so that he could see and Will felt like an ice cold bucket of water had just been dropped on him.

His hands were scarred, covered in burns, some of them scabbing over. Will yanked his hands back from Adrian’s and pretended to continue putting everything into his bag. His heart pounded. That was another thing he was on edge about.

Ever since Will had been able to control the tv, he had practiced his powers whenever he was alone. It started off small, zapping his radio to life, learning how to turn on the light in his bedroom. He was becoming more confident the more he did it. He now understood the feeling of electricity in his body and even though it hurt, he learned to deal with the pain too. The sparks in his hands could increase with just a simple thought and they could shoot from his hands and knock something down if Will concentrated enough. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hid his powers forever, especially because of the burn marks that formed on his hands whenever he finished, but Will didn’t think he was going to be found out _this_ fast.

“Listen, Adrian, it’s not what you think. Nothing bad is happening, no one’s harming me, I swear.” Will nervously pulled his sleeves down to cover his hands as he shut the locker and fully faced Adrian. “I haven’t told the others, but-”

“But you have powers that let you control electricity and you’ve been trying to figure out what you can do?”

Will flinched back in shock. "What? How did you know?”

Adrian shrugged and his blue eyes were softly gazing at Will in worry. “I didn’t tell you, but that night El saw the Lich in the tv, I saw you. I saw you turn off the tv using that spark. That’s actually part of the reason I was so freaked out at the time. I didn’t say anything because I figured you would tell me whenever you were ready.”

He looked down and examined Will’s hands, glancing up when Will winced.

“Will, listen to me, you can’t keep doing this if it’s hurting you so much. I’m worried about you. What if you can’t stop the electricity and it harms more than your hands?”

Will hadn’t even thought about it like that. “I have it under control, don’t worry. I promise I’m being careful. If i don’t figure out these powers now, I don’t how know how else I’m going to get through this whole thing.”

Adrian nodded, but still wrapped Will up in a hug. They were the same height and Will comfortably hugged back, both of them savoring it.

It wasn't long before the simple moment was ruined. 

“Aww, look at the two fairies. Aren’t they cute?”

A sneer filled the empty hallway and both boys jerked apart, turning to see the owner of the voice. Standing behind them, flanked on either side by his two goons, was Josh Aberleen. He was a year older than them and had constantly made Will’s life a living hell throughout his high school experience. Captain of the wrestling team, the school let him get away with everything because of how much money he brought in. It was despicable.

Will felt Adrian start to shake next to him and suddenly, he remembered that this was the guy who had beaten Adrian up when they had first became friends.

Will felt blood rush into his ears just at the thought of it.

“Leave us alone, Josh." Will stood his ground, putting himself in front of Adrian.

Josh’s beat-in face leered and looked down at him. “That girl ain’t here to protect you, Byers? Guess it’s my lucky day.” He wound his arm back while he grabbed Will’s sweater, getting ready to punch his face and Will tensed, waiting for the impact.

Adrian shoved Will to the side and stood directly in front of Josh. His voice shook, but he looked ready to fight. “Don’t you dare touch him.”

“Aww, worried the little fairy can't handle it? I know you certainly can't." Josh laughed darkly, his friends crowding closer to keep Will and Adrian from escaping. They were moving in closer, all rolling up the sleeves of their letterman jackets. Adrian was slowly losing confidence and backed up until he hit the locker with a loud thud.

Will’s mind went blank with fear for his friend. He had to do something. His fight or flight instincts kicked in and he knew his idea was only going to get him killed, but as long as Adrian made it out alive it was worth it. He inhaled deeply and prepared himself for whatever mess he was about to get into. 

“So what if I am a fairy?" Will leaned forward, standing right in front of Josh, who towered over him. He kept his fear in check and powered through. “I am gay. I like boys and I don’t care what you think anymore.”

The entire group, bullies and Adrian alike, gaped at Will in surprise. He smiled widely, adrenaline rushing through his veins.

“And you know what else? Maybe I’ll use my fairy powers and make you gay too.”

Josh shoved Will against the locker, his head hitting it with a loud clunk and his vision went dark for a second. Will opened his eyes, Josh staring at him in pure disgust and his lip was quivering in anger.

“Why you little shi-”

Time seemed to slow down.

Adrian was tugging on Will’s sleeve, trying to push past the bully standing to their left, but he recovered from his shock just before they were free. He grabbed Adrian by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground before slamming him against the locker, letting him crumble to the floor. His groans were the only way for Will to know he was still alive. Will stared down Josh, concentrating all his anger and fear to the tips of fingers, where he felt the beginnings of a spark.

Before he could do any serious damage though, Josh sprung into action. Will wasn’t prepared for the punch that landed squarely on his nose, the loud cracking sound filling his ears, making Will’s head swim. _Just a few more minutes._

Josh’s two friends were kicking Adrian to keep him down, even though he continued to reach for Will.

Will could barely see, his eyes filled with tears, but he knew Josh was getting closer to him for round two.

“You’re dead, Byers.” Josh raised his fist in the air and it was almost a centimeter away from Will’s face when he saw the lights flicker.

He closed his eyes, feeling his face growing hotter, the hairs standing up as the electricity spread across his face.

That’s when Josh’s fist made impact.

The tendrils of electricity literally vibrating off of Will’s face connected with Josh’s fist, other bolts of electricity spiraling from his fingers hitting the two kicking Adrian, knocking them off their feet.

The loud sizzle that echoed down the hall, followed by the sounds of Josh and the other bullies groaning in pain was the only way Will could tell his powers had worked. He was lying on the ground too, his whole body feeling like a deadweight. The throbbing pain from his broken nose didn’t even compare to the numbing pain as the burns from the electricity seared into his fingertips. His mind was fuzzy and his eyes kept drifting shut, hearing various noises around them as teachers and other students crowded around the scene. Will felt Adrian groggily move closer to him, a small smile barely visible through his swollen up face.

“You saved us, Will. I can’t believe it.”

Will shut his eyes and was slowly drifting into unconsciousness when he felt strong, familiar hands grab him and pull his head to their lap. He opened his eyes as much as he could and his heart stopped beating when he looked into Mike’s round eyes, tears sliding down his cheeks as he cradled Will’s head.

He heard the sound of the rest of his friends surround him and Adrian, including the principal and the nurse shouting and trying to figure out what had happened.

“Will, are you okay?” Max was crouched above him now too, Lucas at her side, but Will couldn’t look away from Mike. If he was going to pass out from pain, at least he’d get to remember this moment.

Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw El and Dustin help Adrian sit up and relief flooded through him at knowing that his friend was going to be okay.

Suddenly he started laughing, his mind replaying everything that had just happened, and Mike pulled him closer to himself, the panic in his voice rising. “Will? What’s wrong, what’s going on?”

Will finally managed to fully open his eyes, feeling calm wash over him all at once as his eyes connected with Mike's.

“I guess I have a lot of explaining to do.”

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I took a break from writing so I could spend the holidays with my family who came to visit. I hope everyone who celebrates it had a good Christmas. Enjoy the chapter :)

Will stared at the six pair of eyes staring worriedly back at him and sighed.

_Why couldn’t I just deal with the fight and all of this later?_

He fiddled with the bandages wrapped around his hands, winding and unwinding them.

After the principal had finally got everyone to clear out from the hallway, he had dragged Will, Adrian, Josh, and his two friends to his office. All of them had gotten into trouble, albeit varying punishments, and Will was exhausted. Both Adrian and him had gotten a three day suspension, Josh and the others only two days of detention. It was downright outrageous and even though their friends had fought for it, their suspension wasn’t changed.

Lucas had taken the two boys to the emergency room, where they were taken care of for their injuries. Thankfully, both had minor ones, Adrian with bruising and a cracked rib and Will with a broken nose and a black eye.

Oh, and his burns, which Max was currently staring daggers at.

“Do you want to explain to us what the hell happened to your hands?” She gestured frantically in their direction, looking furious.

Will wished Adrian had stayed, but the group had dropped him off at his house before going to Will’s, where his mom was taking care of him.

El cleared her throat and fixed him with a steely glaze, leaning forward next to Max, as if she was about to tackle him to the floor. For a second, Will could believe that the two girls were like parents grounding their son.

It was almost laughable.

Finally, Will took in a breath and fully unwrapped the bandage on one of his hands, holding it up for the others to see. They all gasped, Mike tripping in his haste to come closer and inspect them.

“Surprise everyone. I have powers.”

“That’s all you have to say for yourself?” Max had crossed her arms and was still glaring at him disapprovingly. “Why don’t you start with why this fight even happened in the first place?”

He began the story, telling them about Adrian figuring out he had powers, Josh and his friends ganging up, and Will telling them off. Halfway through the story, Lucas gestured for him to stop.

“Hold on, hold on. Are you saying that….you’re gay?”

Will froze. He had been so focused on his story that he hadn’t even realized they didn’t know he was even _gay_.

“Um, yeah I am. Gay. I should have told you all earlier, but I was...scared.”

Will glanced up at the group of faces, all less readable than the last. His stomach clenched in fear and a sweat broke loose. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Lucas stood up from the couch and came to stand in front of Will, who also shakily got to his feet. Lucas’s face was devoid of emotions and Will braced himself for whatever. A punch, a malicious laugh, him yelling angrily. It wasn’t like he hadn’t imagined this was what was going to happen before.

Lucas did none of those things.

Instead, he crushed Will in a hug.

Will’s heart stopped. “W-what’s happening right now?”

Lucas chuckled when he pulled back a little to look him in the eyes.

“Will, I’m so proud of you.”

Everything came crashing down. Will let out a choked sob, falling into Lucas’s arms as he wept. He felt several other arms wrap around his shoulders too, emerging everyone into a group hug. The sound of sniffles and Will openly sobbing echoed in the quiet room.

Dustin was patting his head. “It’s okay buddy. We kinda already knew.”

Will let out a wet laugh when Mike punched Dustin on the arm. Mike pulled away from the circle and stared right into Will’s eyes, a look of pure adoration written all over his face. “What Dustin is trying to say is that we all figured it might be true and we all are okay with it.” He smiled sweetly at him.

Will couldn’t stop crying. “I thought I was going to lose you guys if I told you. I-I already lost my dad....”

“You’re never going to lose us, Will,” Max whispered ruffling his hair, “Whether you like it or not.”

They all gathered back into a hug and Will already knew.

He never wanted the lose any of them.

He would go to the ends of the earth to make sure he never would.

* * *

After Will had stopped blubbering and Dustin had stopped cracking jokes, everyone had sat back down and heard the whole story. Will explained his powers and even demonstrated, but no one seemed appeased. Much like Adrian’s argument, they were all worried that Will was going to have “more pain than gain” (in Dustin’s words) and they urged him not to use his powers until he could figure out how to stop the burns.

Will had begrudgingly agreed, but he was already formulating a plan to hide the burns from them.

Finally, everyone had left and Will had waved them off, feeling relief wash over him. They knew he was gay and they still loved him.

Things might actually be alright.

Suddenly, the front door quickly opened and slammed shut, blowing in a gust of cold air. Will screamed, terror already making his mind run through every worse case scenario. Joyce and Hopper were at work, Jonathan at school, and El spending the night at Max’s house. He slowly got off his bed, trying to calm his beating heart, and tentatively stepped out into the hallway. Confusion replaced his fear once he saw who had entered.

“Mike, what are you doing here?”

Mike stopped unbuttoning his coat and looked at Will apologetically. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I was on my way home and stopped at the grocery store to pick up something for my mom, when I ran into your mom. She told me to come spend the night, since the school called and told her what had happened and she didn’t want you to be alone.”

He tucked his overnight bag under a chair and grinned at Will.

Will smiled shyly back. He and Mike hadn’t had sleepovers as much anymore, with their group expanding and school taking up a lot of their time.

Mike seemed to read his thoughts. “It’ll be just like old times.”

They both grinned at each other and that was all it took. Both scrambled into motion, Will hurrying to the kitchen to get snacks while Mike set up the tv so they could watch their Star Wars marathon. In about five minutes flat, both boys were settled next to each other on the couch, shoving popcorn in their mouths while the classic Star Wars intro blasted on the tv.

Will snuggled into the blanket he and Mike shared, their feet bumping against each other.

Just like old times.

Halfway through the third movie, Will fell asleep. He was so exhausted from the entire day that it didn’t take long for him to be in a deep slumber. That’s when he noticed it.

The cold feeling that spread down his back. He opened his eyes to see what was happening.

He was standing in an endless void.

It had to be another nightmare, similar to the other ones he had been having recently, but Will knew something was off.

This one felt different.

He heard it before he could see it.

Slowly, a skeleton came into focus, in front of him. _The Lich._ The bones were a bit worse for wear, broken in some places and a grayish color. Draped against its shoulders was a long purple cape, the hood pulled over its head rustling as the skeleton laughed. Will started backing up, his eyes getting trapped in the hollow gaze that was staring back at him. Before he could break out into a run, however, the skeleton spoke in a deep, gravely voice.

“The time has almost arrived. You and your friends can’t escape me.”

Will felt his fear cut through him like a knife, but he held his ground like had earlier with Josh. “We’re not going to let you harm anyone in this town. We _will_ defeat you.”

The Lich’s laughs echoed around Will and it's bare white teeth seemed to grin. “No one is safe, especially someone you love.”

Screams filled Will’s mind. They sounded familiar, but Will couldn’t concentrate enough to think. He fell to his knees and held his hands against his head. He cried out in pain, but that only made the Lich laugh even more.

The screams and laughter echoed in his head when he felt someone shaking him. He woke with a start. He was on his bed, a sliver of the moon being the only light. Mike was kneeling in front of him, hands running up and down Will’s arms, trying to soothe him. Will hadn’t even realized he had been screaming until he tried to talk, his voice coming out scratchy and dry.

“W-what happened? Where am I?”

Mike slowly helped him sit up against his pillows. “You fell asleep during the movie so I carried you to bed. I was about to go to sleep too when you started screaming and crying. Was it another nightmare?”

Will nodded, wrapping his arms around his knees and slowly starting to rock back and forth. Mike carefully sat on the edge of his bed to look at Will more clearly.

“It was the Lich. We were in this void of some kind, I-I don’t even know. It was talking to me, almost taunting to me.” Will felt fresh tears slide down his cheek, his nose throbbing from earlier. “It told me someone I love is going to get hurt, Mike. I don’t know what to do.”

Mike quickly pulled him into a hug, Will sobbing into his t-shirt. “Don’t listen to it. It’s trying to get us scared so we let our guard down, but we will defeat it. I know we will. It’s going to be okay.” His voice was firm and held no room for argument, even though his hand was shaking as he carded it through Will’ hair.

Mike kept holding him close until Will’s sobs died off. Finally he pulled away from Mike with a sniffle and glanced at the clock on his nightstand.

“It’s 3. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you up.”

Mike shook his head indignantly, his brown eyes catching the moonlight. “I don’t mind. Are you going to be okay… or should we do it like old times?”

Will gave a nod of his head and pulled the sheets back so Mike could climb under them. Mike’s arm brushed against his at the two squeezed onto the twin bed.

When Will was younger and his nightmares had become night terrors, Mike would always sleep in his bed with him. Will would rarely be able to go back to sleep, but the boys would talk in hushed voices until they saw the sun come up. It always made Will feel better.

Will heard the gentle scuffle from the pillow as Mike turned his head to look at him.

His voice was soft and soothing. “I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, so we can talk about anything else you want.”

Will made a noise of approval but continued staring at the ceiling, his ears still ringing with those haunting screams.

Mike, realizing he wasn’t going to talk, laced his fingers with Will. “Well, that’s okay too. I can talk then, and you can listen. I’m so, extremely proud of you for coming out to us today, Will. I know how much this must have freaked you out, but you’re so strong. You deserve everything in life.”

Will squeezed their still connected hands and turned to stare at Mike. His eyes were closed so he looked freely at his freckles, lining across his cheeks, the curve of his upper lip as a smile faded from his face. Suddenly, his warm brown eyes opened and gazed back at Will, searching for something in his expression.

Mike cleared his throat. “Actually, you remember that day at Steve’s house when we were talking?” Will nodded cautiously as Mike’s eyebrows knitted together in worry. “Well, um, it’s about how I feel. When you told us earlier, I just...I feel like I need to be honest too.”

Will’s heart jumped to his throat. Mike turned his whole body till he was fully facing him.

“I told you El and I broke up because we both wanted different things and that was true. She wanted to explore her world and, well, I wanted _you._ I thought it was weird at first, but after talking to Nancy, I figured out that it wasn’t weird. I had feelings for you. My best friend. I didn’t know how to tell you, especially because it was only a few months after everything had happened with the Mind Flayer and I didn’t want to lose our friendship. I kept it hidden all this time and that’s when you started hanging out with Adrian. I-I got jealous and I broke up with El. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to tell you how I felt, but things kept popping up and I never could.”

Mike closed his eyes and let out a breath. “And then I found out today there was an actual possibility that you liked me back.” His eyes popped open, stumbling his words. “N-not that that means that all gay people have to like every single same sex person they've met I didn’t mean to assume that I just-”

Will cut him off, resting his bandaged hand against Mike’s cheek, his thumb tracing up his cheekbone. He already felt the tears building as Mike gazed back, biting his lip with worry.

“Mike, you have no idea how long I have wanted to hear you say that.”

Both of them started crying happily, wiping the tears off of each other’s faces. Mike leaned in closer. His eyes searched his face and his nose bumped against Will's cheek. “I really like you, Will.”

“I've always liked you.”

“Can I kiss you now?”

Will nodded and closed his eyes when he felt Mike's breath against his lips. When they kissed, Will's whole world stopped. It felt like coming home.

They lay like that, kissing and holding each other close until they needed to pull apart for air.

Mike pulled Will against him and Will finally felt safe enough to realize how tired he actually was. He yawned and burrowed into Mike's shirt. Mike giggled and pressed his lips to the top of his head.

“Sleep tight, Will. Everything will be okay.”

And in that moment, Will believed him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took a while, I couldn't really focus when writing it. There's only a few chapters left so I'm going to try and space them out more. Anyways, I hope everyone had a good New Year and that you enjoy the chapter!

Will woke up to an empty bed.

He rolled over, completely aware of the cold emptiness where Mike was last night and felt around until his hands brushed against the rough edges of a folded note.

 

_Had to go to school. Didn't want to wake you up. I'll see you after._

_Mike_

 

Will smiled and held the note against his chest. Last night had been the first time Will had properly been able to sleep. Mike had held him close and just knowing someone who loved him was so close was enough to keep away the nightmares.

Well...except for the one with the Lich.

In the back of his mind, the tortured screams filled his head and Will grimaced. Why had they sounded so familiar? He wanted to tell Mike about them last night but his tiredness had won out and Will didn't have the energy to. The longer he thought about it, the more it worried him.

Suddenly, the phone in the living rang through the empty house. _Mom must be at Hopper's._ Will padded to the living room and answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“So glad we got suspended and got to sleep in, huh?” Adrian sounded unfazed from the fight yesterday and noises of a television were in his background.

Will rolled his eyes. “Yeah it was real fun knowing that my principal thinks I'm a juvenile delinquent, yet is too scared to ask why all the lightbulbs were blown out.”

“Speaking of, did you get to tell everyone about your powers then?”

“Yeah, actually, I kinda told everyone more than that.” Will took a breath. “I came out to them.”

Silence filled the line and Will was almost worried that Adrian had hung up. “A-are you there?”

His voice crackled back. “Will, are you kidding me? I'm so proud of you! Wait, how did your crush take it?”

Will couldn't hide the smile that sprung to his face. “He, um, actually told me that he liked me. We might even be dating now.”

Adrian's excited yells made Will hold the phone away from his ear. “Finally! I told you he liked you! Glad he decided to own up to it for once.”

Will heard a door slam through the phone and the sound of Adrian's muffled voice. After a few seconds he came back on the line, sounding apologetic.

“Sorry Will, mom's at home. She needs me to get something from the store since I'm at home. You can tell me all about you and Mike when I get back.”

They said their goodbyes and Will hung up, flopping down on the couch. His nose was still in pain, even though it wasn't as numbing as it was yesterday. He pressed his hand gently against it and winced when pain sliced through him.

He peeled off the bandage wrapped around one of his hands and examined the burns that were beginning to scar against his palm. The party’s protests about using his powers flooded through his head, but Will ignored them. The dream with the Lich had served as Will's warning. He had to be able to use his powers freely or…

Someone he loved was going to die.

* * *

The day passed by easily, Will quietly working on his powers by turning his electricity in the house on and off. The knock on the door startled him from his concentration and only when he padded over and opened it did he finally feel calm for the first time in the day.

Mike stood on the porch, his dad’s car parked on the gravel, a dopey smile painting his features as he held out a bouquet of sunflowers. Will’s heart soared.

“So since I’m out of school and no one is at home yet, I thought we could go out on our first date.”

Will blushed as he took the flowers from an even more bashful Mike and nodded his head, trying to keep the grin off his face. “I’d love to. What did you have in mind?”

Mike finally looked him in the eyes, smiling mischievously. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

It took Will a few minutes to get ready, changing into a button down shirt and gelling his hair back. He walked back into the living room where Mike was watching tv, tapping his foot nervously on the hardwood floor. Will cleared his throat and Mike sprang up, looking at Will in amazement. “Wow, I just… you look amazing.”

Will walked up closer to him until he was crowding his space and wrapped his arms around Mike. They stood there for a few minutes, both taking in the fact that they could freely hold each other like this, and enjoyed the feeling of the other against their fingertips.

Finally, they got into the car and not before long, Will saw the forest and the city fading away from his view as they kept driving. Mike was holding his hand, driving with the other, and looked at Will with a gleam in his eye.

Mike was right to be excited. As soon as Will saw the place, he was already in love. It was just outside the town, an open field that separated their town from the next. One corner had a small pond and although it was cold outside, a few plants were growing along the sides, seemingly at a steady pace. Surrounding the field was a belt of trees, which formed canopies, giving the grass a dark green hue. It gave Will peace just looking at it.

He turned around to tell Mike, words already dying in his throat as soon as he saw him. A large blanket was thrown over the hood of the car, a thermos of hot chocolate and Mike holding an extra blanket as he watched him carefully. Will didn’t even know what to say, his heart was too full. He ran towards Mike, who barely managed to put the hot chocolate down, and engulfed him in a hug, breathing in the familiar scent.

“Mike, I-I don’t even know what to say, I love this, I-” He pulled back from Mike and kissed him fully, cradling his warm face in his hands “I-I love you. I love you, Mike.”

Mike sat there, mouth open, as he gaped back at Will. He reached out and ran his hands over Will’s face before he pulled him in for another hug. “Will, I love you too. I think I’ve loved you since the day that we met.”

It was music to Will’s ears. They sat like that in the fading sunlight, holding each other close, with the whole world right between them.

* * *

It was night by the time the two decided to head back home. They had spent the evening wrapped up in blankets on the hood of the car, stargazing and naming whatever they saw in the sky after Star Wars characters. It was a distraction that Will so desperately needed and every time Mike leaned over and kissed him, Will’s mind cleared of his anxieties.

It was everything he could have asked for.

Yet, it was too good to be true.

“Hey, was Hopper supposed to come over tonight?” Mike’s grip on Will’s hand tightened as he pulled up to the Byers’s house. Will peered through the darkness and saw the shape of the police lights on top of the truck. His stomach roiled. As soon as Mike shut off the car, Will shot from his seat and raced towards the house, barely able to catch his breath. Mike was on his heels and together they shoved open the front door. All eyes turned to stare at them and Will gasped. _Everyone_ was at his house. Joyce and Hopper were standing just inside the kitchen looking worried, the entire party and Adrian were spread around the couches, Steve was standing in the hallway with his bat, and Jonathan was holding the phone, staring at Will with relief.

Joyce came rushing over to him and pulled the boys in a hug. She was trembling slightly and Will held her close as she tried to calm her breathing.

“I’m so glad you guys are okay. We were about to go looking for you, especially now that…”

Mike gently held her arm, eyebrows knitted together. “Especially now that what?”

Joyce looked over her shoulder at Hopper, who nodded as he lit the cigarette he was holding. “Well, you remember how the news has been reporting about all those lights going out around the city? Hopper looked into it, and it was like a freak accident, the lights would go out and somebody would be injured as soon as the lights came back on. W-We think it’s the Lich.”

Will’s mind went blank. The Lich had been the one controlling those power outages?

Dustin spoke up from the couch. “After school, Lucas, Max, El, and I were hanging out in the building and all the lights went out too.” He looked down, trying to hide the fear from his face. “So many people were injured, a lot of bleeding, it was scary.”

Everyone was silent, only the sound of the clock ticking being heard.

Will cleared his throat. “Why is the Lich only doing it in the dark?”

“I-I think the Lich only works in dark places or when there’s electricity involved. Otherwise, it can’t operate.”

Suddenly, Hopper’s police radio went off. Everyone watched Hopper in silence as he communicated with the other police. His expression getting darker by the minute. Finally he shut it off and turned to face everyone, his hands shaking as he took a drag of his cigarette.

“It’s still in the school. We have to go there.”

“We don’t even have a plan yet.”

Hopper marched towards the door, already strapping his gun to his belt and putting on his sheriff hat. “I have a plan. Kill the monster.”

“That’s a good enough plan.” Adrian said as he stood up, rushing to the door to go with Hopper. He grabbed Will on his way, who in turn grabbed Mike, and they all piled into Hopper’s truck, watching from the window as everyone else piled into cars and rushed to get to the school.

Will turned around from the front seat next to Hopper and looked back at Mike and Adrian, all exchanging looks of fear. Hopper gunned the engine and the car went flying down the road.

“Buckle in, boys. It’s gonna get rough.”

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy ;)

The school was dark and deserted by the time everyone pulled up, save for a few police officers who came running up to Hopper’s truck. One of them was yelling frantically and as soon as Hopper rolled down his window it seemed like all hell broke loose. One of the policemen crowded their space, her arm in a sling.

“Chief, you have to see this, it’s gotten worse from this morning. We had everyone evacuate and the lights kept going out. I was trying to get people out when that _thing_ broke my arm.” She finally looked past Hopper and saw the kids in the car too. “Uh sir? Are you sure you want to bring the kids into this?”

Hopper grunted and opened the door, pulling her away from the car as he went over the procedure with the other cops. Adrian, Mike, and Will all scrambled out of the truck, heading over to Steve’s car to wait for the others. Jonathan ran up to Will, pulling him into a hug and Will barely had enough time to hug back before he let go, running to catch up to Joyce and Hopper, who were grabbing equipment from the police cars. Will watched them strap on guns and flashlights and his skin started tingling.

This really was the beginning of the end.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw El stand next to him, watching the adults too. She grabbed his hand and he squeezed back. He turned his head to look at her, her actions mirroring his. “Are you ready, El?”

“Are you?”

“Not in the slightest.”

She smiled at his response and studied him for a moment, the air between them shifting. “Will, Mike told me.”

Will turned to fully face her, even though she still hadn’t let go of his hand. He felt frozen to the spot. “El, I’m so sorry I should have told you don’t be mad at Mike it was all on m-”

She pulled him into a hug and whispered in his ear. “It’s okay. I’m happy my brother finally has happiness too.”

Will felt his eyes begin to water and buried his head in her shoulder as the shouting around them got louder.

Someone’s hand pressing into his shoulder was what made them pull away. Both were brushing tears from their eyes when they looked at Steve, who was watching them quietly. He finally turned to El, casually swinging around his bat. “Hey, Hop wants you to go suit up.”

El nodded and hurried over to Hopper to prepare her to fight, a furtive nod in Will’s direction. Steve cleared his throat.

“Hey, so, I know you have Jonathan and everything, but if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know where to find me.” He ruffled Will’s hair. “I mean, if the world doesn’t end today.”

Will tried to laugh, but it sounded hollow.

None of them truly knew what they were getting themselves into.

Mike and Adrian were rushing over to him, both wrapping scarves and goggles on their faces as they approached him. Mike smiled comfortingly as he handed Will his own things and Adrian bounced up and down.

“Is it always this nerve wracking?”

“Oh, you don’t even want to know.”

Will finished putting his safety gear on and the three boys went and joined the rest who had congregated around Hopper as he was going over everything.

“Okay, listen up. We have to stay safe and stay efficient. We don’t really know what we are up against so first I’m going to go in there and once I have deemed it safe, I’ll bring in El. The rest of you stay out here with Joyce, she has a walkie talkie and I’ll communicate everything that’s happening. If something bad happens, you all leave. Get as far away from here as you can.”

Everyone solemnly nodded, geared up for whatever was going to happen.

Hopper turned to Joyce and everyone looked away, trying to give them their privacy as they said what might be their last goodbye. Will walked over to Joyce, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as everyone watched Hopper walk into the building, the lights flashing sporadically. Joyce sniffled and turned to him, her expression unreadable. “Will, honey, if it does all fall apart, I want you to take everyone back to the house,” She grabbed his shoulders to stop his protests. “Don’t wait for me, sweetie. I-I can’t leave them.”

Will swallowed and finally nodded at her, trying to appease the look of absolute fear in her eyes. She left him to go tell Jonathan and Will wandered over to Lucas and Dustin, all huddling together to calm their nerves. He looked over at the group, seeing Max whispering to El on the hood of a car, Mike securing Adrian’s goggles on, and Steve conversing with his family.

If it all went down today, Will didn’t know what he was going to do.

Suddenly, from across the parking lot, the walkie talkie crackled to life. Hopper’s voiced filled the air as Joyce clutched the walkie talkie tightly and nodded at El. El understood, squeezing Max’s arm before getting off the hood, running towards the door. Through the school’s front doors, the lights were continuing to flash and she hesitated while she held the handle, her eyes scanning all their faces. She gave a simple nod, her face pulled into one of determination and plowed through the building. Will watched as she slowly became just a dot, running down the hall.

Mike came up next to Will, grabbing his shaky hand. His voice shook just as much. “She’s going to be okay. I know she is.”

Will nodded, unsure of her fate, but he knew Mike was right. If there was anyone who could do this, El could. Joyce started calling out to them, ushering all the teenagers into the cars as she, Jonathan, and Steve stood close to the entrance. All the kids piled into Hopper’s truck, silence filling the space as they all watched the lights around the building continue to flicker. Mike and Will had squeezed into the trunk so that there was space for everyone and Will leaned into Mike, his fears running through his mind. He ran his hands through his hair to soothe him, pulling Will closer into his side.

Finally, Adrian spoke up. “There has to be something we can do to help them.”

Mike slowly lifted his head off of Will's. “I was thinking that too. I mean, in all the other cases, the party was able to figure out things that no one else could. We can do it again.”

Dustin nodded and pulled out the book of monsters from D&D from his book bag, already scanning it for the description of the Lich. He gasped and looked up, dread starting to grow on his face. “You guys, how we could forget?” Dustin lifted the book into the air, shaking it in frustration. “The phylactery, that’s the key. It’s what keeps it immortal. That means...”

Will finished his thought for him. “That means, if we find the phylactery, it will become mortal and we can defeat it.”

Everyone looked at each other in stunned silence.

“How do we find the phylactery?”

The charged energy deflated.

That's when it hit Will.

“Wait, do you remember when we saw it in the tv? It was wearing a lot of jewelry. One of those has to be the phylactery.”

Mike nodded, closing his eyes to picture the memory. “It could either be on the chains on it’s necks or something else. It has to be something on it though.”

Everyone got out of the car, surrounding the book to check over anything else they had missed about the Lich. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Adrian staring at the school, his expression grim as his blonde hair whipped in the wind.

Will tugged his arm. “Adrian, I don’t want to put you in danger, if you don’t want this. You can wait outside if-”

Adrian turned to face him, his blue eyes shining with intensity. “Will, I’ve never been more sure of anything else in my entire life.” He pulled Will into a hug. “I want to fight alongside my best friend, no matter the cost. We're going to get through this."

Will tightened their embrace, his love for his friend flowing through his veins. For one moment in the entire day, he felt like a normal person, having a conversation with his friend.

It was gone too soon.

The others dragged them apart, rushing over to fill in the adults. Will was about to tell his mom what they had discovered until he got close enough to see her face. Jonathan was trying to soothe her, but her face was sheet white as she yelled into the walkie talkie. No sound came from it and that's when Will realized.

They had lost communication with Hopper and El.

Joyce seemed to be in shock, ignoring Jonathan's pleas, but she looked Will in the eye, her words ringing in his ears. _I want you to take everyone back to the house._  He locked his jaw and turned around to face the other kids, who were all spotting similar looks of shock.

A thunderstorm was brewing in the darkening sky and it seemed to fuel his anger. “We aren't leaving.”

Joyce finally snapped out of it and grabbed his arm to stop him but Will held his ground. “We have to help. There's no way I'm losing my family. Not again.” He glanced at Steve, who was watching him with a mix of fear and awe and laid out the plan. “We need to get inside the building, but first we need a plan. The Lich has an item that is keeping it in power and if we can destroy that, El can defeat it. A few of us will try to distract the Lich while the others try to find the phylactery and take it. Mom, you help Hopper and make sure El is okay.”

The others just stared at him, until he started moving, Jonathan already on his heels. “Will, we can’t just go in there. We have to stop and listen to Hopper and mo-”

“No, I’m not waiting anymore. This might be our only chance.”

Will’s mind was set. There was nothing anyone could say to stop him from going into the school. He opened the doors, feeling the presence of his friends around him and stepped into the unstable environment. The hallway, normally filled with students, was cold and empty. The overhead lights were flickering dangerously and the sound of gunshots echoed down the hall.

Will ran.

The deeper he ran into the school, the more his body became numb. He couldn’t even feel his hands by the time the group ran into the gymnasium to see what was happening.

Will really wished he hadn’t seen it.

Standing by the wall was the Lich, draped in it’s purple cloak, grown two times bigger than when Will saw it in his dreams. It nearly reached the top of the ceiling, and the way it laughed filled the entire room. El was standing right in front of it, floating as blood poured from her nose. She had her hands outstretched, pushing all her power to fight the monster to no avail. Hopper was huddled next to her, firing useless bullets at the monster. It didn’t even seem to be hitting it, only making the Lich angrier.

That’s when Will noticed the jeweled necklace. It was much bigger than the other jewelry the skeleton wore, a pendulum surrounded with jewels on a long chain around its neck. Dustin spotted it too, nudging Will urgently and pointing at it. The two herded the group under the bleachers, all overwhelmed by what they just saw.

“So that’s what we’re up against, huh?” Max didn’t sound scared, only annoyed and that helped Will gain back his confidence.

“Dustin and I think the necklace is the phylactery. We have to get rid of it, otherwise it won’t die. Who wants to distract the Lich?”

Lucas, Max, and Adrian all raised their hands, their faces filled with grim determination. Will nodded at them, silently proud of his friends. “Okay, so that means Mike, Dustin, and I will try and take it off. We can’t waste anymore time.”

Joyce looked uneasy, but nodded after the sound of one of the overhead lamps smashed to the ground. "Jonathan and Steve can go with both groups and help. I’ll do like we planned.”

Finally, everyone agreed and slowly, each group emerged into the open. Lucas, Max and Adrian left first, all screaming and gesturing as they got closer to the Lich. Steve followed them close, watching the Lich as he braced for whatever was going to happen while Joyce sprinted across the gym to reach Hopper and El, who were looking weaker by the second. Dustin and Jonathan stood by the entrance of the bleachers, trying to find an opening for them to hide from the Lich’s empty gaze.

Will didn’t even realize he was shaking until Mike grabbed his hand, stilling his movements.

“Will, it’s going to be okay.” Mike kissed him on his forehead, but Will still felt uneasy.

Something was off, he just… didn’t know what.  

All of a sudden, the gunshots stopped and a loud rippling sound replaced it. Dustin gestured frantically for everyone to go and slowly, they all left the bleachers, moving in the shadows to get closer to the Lich. Will’s heart was breaking just watching the scene.

El was barely holding on, hands shaking as she fell to her knees. Her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was streaming blood, but she still gazed up at the Lich with absolute hatred in her eyes. Hopper was pushed to the corner, Joyce trying to stop the bleeding from a wound that made him look like he had been struck by lightning.

Their group continued around the walls, treading lightly as Lucas used his slingshot to propel rocks at the Lich. Adrian and Max were dodging the green bolts striking from the Lich, narrowly being hit. Will almost froze in his tracks when the Lich looked up in his direction, eyes seeming to meet his. The cunning smile on it’s skeleton face grinned even more. With one final laugh from the Lich, it snapped its fingers together and suddenly the room went dead silent. Will ran into Dustin, but Dustin wasn’t moving. He looked behind him and stifled a scream as he realized that both Mike and Jonathan were frozen in place, along with everyone else in the room.

Everyone except him and the Lich.

The cackling started and Will wanted to curl into a ball and cry. The Lich’s gravelly voice filled his mind, making all of Will’s bravery leak out of him like an open wound.

“Did you really think it would be this easy? Get ready for the end, Zombie Boy.”

Time started up again and Will slammed into Dustin, who resumed his walk. Will’s whole body was shaking and his stomach turned the closer they moved to the Lich. He knew that the monster could see them, but why was it not doing anything to them?

Dustin was almost at the Lich’s skeleton feet, a brush away from being in the Lich’s personal space. The group all glanced up at the shining metal pendulum that swung from the Lich’s neck and Will’s heart thrummed along with the electricity shooting off of the monster in front of them.

Mike was shaking Will’s arm, his voice an urgent whisper. “What now? We have to get that necklace off of it.”

Will nodded, but he couldn’t concentrate, the Lich’s voice was still ringing in his ears. He stared intently at the golden chain, the way it gleamed in the lights. It was long enough for them to all easily reach it if they jumped, but it still felt off. He thought back to the D&D session they had where the Lich was involved, blocking out the distress and noise around him.

He could remember it clearly.

_“Come on, roll already”, Lucas pestered Dustin as the young boy stared at the dice intently. Dustin brushed him off, instead turning to Will. It was a late Saturday evening, the original group of four had gathered in Mike’s basement the night before with the intent to finish the campaign, but it had taken more than one day. Will and Dustin seemed to have a conversation with their minds and, with a decisive nod, Dustin rolled his dye and turned to Mike with a smug face. “I found the phylactery. It’s the crown.”_

_Mike stared Dustin down as Lucas and Will looked on with excitement, waiting to see if this would make or break them. They had carefully examined each detail in the description of the Lich and had come to the conclusion of the phylactery, confident that they were going to defeat it and win._

_A few minutes passed and suddenly, Mike looked at each of the boys with a coy smile. “You really think it would be that easy?”_

_Will’s brain seemed to stop. The players looked at each other in confusion as Mike continued to theatrically cackle at his friends._

_“The Lich has tricked you,” Mike read as the others groaned. “The crown was a trap to ensure it’s kills, meant to have the players be drawn to it. All who touched the crown have died.”_

_Lucas smacked Dustin upside the head. “Of course we all died. Obviously, the most obvious item on the Lich wouldn’t be the phylactery. It was a trap.”_

_It was a trap..._

Will’s eyes snapped open and he pushed against Mike, who was trying to calm him down.

His eyes were struggling to focus, trying to get the words out. “Mike, it’s a trap, the necklace. It’s a trap we have it all wron-”.

Before he could say it, he heard Dustin yell out. Will snapped back around, just in time to see Adrian duck a bolt of lightning and sprint at the Lich, his hands outstretched as he reached for the necklace.

It felt like the world had stopped.

The screams echoing in his ears, a familiar sound from his nightmare that Will could finally place.

The screams had been _Adrian’s._

He launched himself at Adrian, screaming out for everything to stop, but it was too late. Adrian glanced at him, his bright blue eyes searching Will’s face.

Will watched in horror as Adrian’s hand enclosed around the chain.

That was all it took.

Will was blown halfway across the room, his ears ringing. He struggled up, yelling Adrian’s name. He couldn’t even see through the fog that had taken over the whole room from the blast, but he already knew the Lich had done what it had planned all along. Will’s brain short-circuited as he crumbled to his knees, his scream dying in his throat.

The fog had cleared and Will spotted Adrian and suddenly he remembered.

He remembered meeting on the first day of school in their art class. Adrian’s laughter filling Will’s bedroom, his hands pulling him into a warm hug that always made Will feel better, Adrian standing up for him against the bullies, that first moment they had bonded, Will finally feeling like he wasn’t alone.

His soft, comforting voice filled his mind, playing over the last words he said to Will. _I want to fight alongside my best friend._

It all flashed before his eyes as he approached Adrian.  
He was lying on the floor, his body bent in a weird position. His blood pooled around him, soft features relaxed into an expression of bliss.

Will cried out for help, but cradling his limp head in his hands was enough to tell Will what he feared the most.  

Adrian wasn’t breathing.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! I'm so sorry I took so long to update, school started up again and things got hectic. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

_A cold winter evening._

_Will was wrapped up in a blanket, watching the snowfall from the foggy window. He held his mug of steaming hot chocolate to his lips and blew on it to cool it down. A cheerful Christmas song was playing in the background and Will tried to block out the tune._

_“Don’t you just love winter?”_

_Will turned his head slightly, looking curiously into Adrian’s eyes._

_He sat opposite of Will, an exact mirror image with his own blanket and hot chocolate. The two friends had just finished a painting together, one that they had made for fun and were letting dry by the heater. It was a combination of both of their favorite art styles, surrealism and cubism, and featured the two, each drawn by the other person._

_It had to be Will’s favorite painting._

_Adrian gulped down his hot chocolate and stared at Will in confusion over his obvious lack of enthusiasm. “What’s wrong, Will?”_

_Will couldn’t tell him that he hated winter because it was only a reminder about how weak he truly was. He couldn’t stop the demogorgon, he couldn’t stop the Mindflayer, and he was probably not going to be able to stop their new threat._

_He was a failure, but he couldn’t tell Adrian that.  “It’s just that the holidays always make me feel...weird.”_

_Adrian nudged him with his toe to continue._

_“A few years ago, something happened to me and it was like I couldn’t fix it. Other people had to help me. Then, the next year, something even worse happened and I only seemed to be making everything worse. It’s like a reminder whenever I see the snow, the lights, listen to songs. A reminder that I can’t do anything to help.”_

_He ducked his head, distracting himself with the marshmallows floating in his drink. Adrian cleared his throat and sat up, leaning closer to Will. His light blue eyes met Will’s._

_“You know, ever since we met, I have never once seen you as someone who couldn’t fix a situation. Hell, when you found me in the library crying? That was probably one of my lowest points. But you helped me, Will. You.” Adrian smiled widely and patted his arm. “I hope you know that whatever happened back then is in the past. You grew and became one of the toughest people I know so don’t ever lose that.”_

_Tears sprung to Will’s eyes and he pulled Adrian in for a hug, careful not to spill their drinks. “Thanks, Adrian. You don’t know how much that means to me.”_

_“Of course. Besides, if you can’t get compliments from your gay best friend, who else will do it?”_

_The boys cracked up, their laughter filling the already warm room._

Will could only hear Adrian’s laugh as he slowly came to.

“Will, honey, are you awake?”

His eyes felt like they were glued shut, but cautiously he opened them to see his mom staring at him worriedly. She looked worse for wear, covered in blood and dirt, her hair matted down. Will glanced around the rest of the room, finally registering the beeping monitor and the white stark hospital room he was in.

Joyce ran her fingers through his hair soothingly, helping him as he struggled to sit up on the bed. “Do you...do you remember anything that happened earlier, sweetie?”

He simply nodded and scrunched his eyes close.

Thinking about it was too painful, but he remembered every single detail.

All the blood. Will’s voice growing hoarse from all the screaming. Mike, crying, holding Will in his arms as everyone watched Hopper try and resuscitate Adrian. Adrian’s dead, blue eyes being closed.

Will had promptly been in too much shock to quite remember what had happened after, but nothing had mattered when he saw the lifeless body of his best friend being taken away in an ambulance.

His voice sounded as worn out and scratchy as Will felt on the inside. “Where is everyone else? Where’s Mike?”

Joyce tried to discreetly wipe her tears on her sleeve but her voice shook. “Um, well as soon as everything...happened, the Lich somehow made it out into the football field and El’s still there with Hopper and the boys to try and stop it. Mike and Max came with me to make sure you were okay.”

Will continued staring at the white wall in front of him. He felt numb and like he was still at the school.

He didn't know how to deal with this.

Wrapping the blanket tighter around his shoulders, Will faced away from his mother and buried his head underneath.

Joyce didn’t say anything, but her comforting presence remained in the room. Will finally closed his eyes and let the tears fall freely.

His mom sighed. “It’s numbing, isn’t it?”

Will turned around to face her, but still didn’t move the blanket off his face. He could make out her shape through the thin sheet. Her hand reached forward and lay on his arm.

“Right after Bob died, I remember I felt so...hollow. Almost as if I wasn’t truly in my body. I couldn’t see straight, couldn’t even think. All I could hear was the little chuckle he made whenever someone made a joke.”

Will held back a sob.

He remembered the chuckle too.

“But, sweetie, I want you to know, you’re going to get through this. It might not feel like it now, I know, but it will stop hurting as much as it does now. I promise.”

Will gently pulled back the blanket with shaky hands and through his tears he watched his mom lose herself in her own memories of who she lost. “I feel so useless. I couldn’t save him, Mom. I should have been the one to die. Not him.”

He didn’t know whether he was talking about Adrian or Bob.

It felt like both.

His mom seemed to know. Joyce locked eyes with him and leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead. “Honey, you and I both know that’s not true. Neither Adrian or Bob were supposed to die, but you know what? They both died with people they love. They both died as _heroes.”_

Will couldn’t take it anymore. With a strangled cry, he threw himself into his mother’s arms and held her tightly as all the pent up emotions flooded through him. His mom held him just as tightly.

“I don’t want to face it, Mom. I don’t think I can.”

Suddenly, Joyce nudged his head off her shoulder to make him look into her eyes. “Adrian believed in you and everyone who loves you does too. You _will_ get through this.”

She held him close until Will finally closed his eyes again, falling into a fitful sleep, Adrian’s laughter still playing in his head.

He might not have been having a good rest, but the nightmares still came. He was back in that empty void, a cloud showing the Lich at the school, minutes before Adrian had died. The scene was playing in slow motion, as if the Lich wanted Will to hurt.

It was working. Will tried his best to block out all the screams.

“I would say I’m sorry about your little friend, but you and I both know it was an unnecessary loss. He didn’t save anyone, not even himself.”

Draped in his purple cape and jewelry, the Lich stood tall in front of a cowering Will, his haunting cackles filling Will’s empty mind. Will fell to his knees, ready to give up.

_No. I’m not going down like this._

With as much strength Will could muster in his dreamlike state, he shakily stood to his feet and braced himself in front of the Lich. “You’re wrong. Adrian did save someone. Me.”

His eyes snapped open, his heartbeat finally seeming to catch up to his racing mind.

“Will, are you okay? What happened?”

Mike was sitting in front of him, eyes wild, his beautiful black curly locks covered in the rubble that was falling from the ceiling of the school.

He wrapped his arms around him and Will hugged back, immediately feeling a sense of relief wash over him. Mike was talking fast, trying to get out everything pent up inside him about finally seeing Will. Will gently pulled away from Mike and held his face in his hands. “Where’s my mom?”

Mike looked down, his eyes starting to fill with worry. “I tried to tell her to stay but….” He sighed. “She went back to the school. Hopper is really hurt and El is losing it. Lucas is on the supercom telling us what’s going on, but I-I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Will pulled his hands away and started pulling out the tubes attached to him, alarming Mike. He was already trying to stand on his feet before Mike grabbed his arm and stared at him in bewilderment.

“Mike, we have to get to the school.”

“What, why?”

“I know what the phylactery is. This time I’m absolutely positive.”

Mike was still refusing to let him go out the door. “Well, what is it?”

Will took a deep breath. “It’s one of the rings. In every dream I’ve seen that monster in, the jewelry will always change, except the rings. They always stay the same and they’re close enough for the Lich to protect it.”

Mike nodded, staring at the wall behind Will, trying to calculate everything in his mind. “How do we get rid of them, though? We can’t just grab each one and hope for the best.”

Will stared down at his shaking hands, his mind fully set. “I’m going to use my powers.”

“N-no you can’t! We don’t know what will happen if your powers can’t destroy it or if the traps end up hurting you or if something else happens I can’t-”

Will grabbed Mike’s face and pressed their lips together. Mike still looked crazed, but his eyes were finally sticking to Will’s.

“I have to do this.”

Mike opened his mouth to protest, but the door flew open and Max stood there, her mouth in a small “o” as she took in the scene in front of her.

They couldn’t waste anymore time.

“Max, I need your help. We need to get back to the school. Now.”

Max shook her head, ridding her face of shock and smiled suspiciously at him, holding up car keys.

“I’m your Zoomer aren’t I? I got your back.”

* * *

 Will heard the screaming before he even opened the car door. It was a loud, shrieking pitch, coming from the back of the school.

“That has to be El”, Mike said, saying everyone’s thoughts out loud. Max had driven Mike and Will through the crowded streets, narrowly missing other cars, but they had made it back to the school in record time.

“Let’s go.” Will started running towards the school, hastily throwing Mike’s jacket over his short sleeve shirt to keep warm. The three teenagers charged towards the school, rushing closer to the sound of torment coming from the football field. Max reached first and shoved open the door, coming to a halt as she gasped at the scene. Will slammed into her and looked up too, his eyes already growing large at the monster. The Lich was still in its bigger form, it’s skeleton hands raised as it shot out electric bolts at El, who was barely hanging on. Her mouth was wide open, a constant scream escaping her lips as she stared down the monster. Will knew she wasn’t doing well, the way her feet had dug holes into the field and the blood from her nose caking her chin. His heart hurt just watching her.

Mike pointed at the rest of the group, and Will’s mind froze. His mom was huddled over a bleeding Hopper, shouting out orders at Jonathan and Dustin to try and stop the bleeding. Lucas and Steve were aiming bullets from the leftover guns, but it looked like they were almost out of ammo. The trio hurried over to the group, trying to dodge the bolts that crackled and whizzed past their heads. The closer Will got, the more the panic in him built up.

His mom was carefully wrapping a cloth around Hopper’s arm, whispering calmly. She looked up when she heard their footsteps though, her face shifting through so many emotions when she looked at her son.

When Will looked into her eyes though, he knew right away that she understood.

He looked at all his loved ones, each more beat up than the last. That's when it hit him.

This might be the last time he would ever see them.

He didn't know how he was going to hold up against the Lich, a much stronger and smarter monster than they had ever faced.

But he had to try.

Will stared at each of his friends, Lucas's face pulled into determination as he fired shots, remembering back to when Lucas and him had got in trouble for playing with Lonnie's gun. He looked at Dustin, who was watching El with his eyes opened wide. Will was so proud of who Dustin had become. He looked at Max, his mind-reader, her feet already shifting against the ground as she tried to help everyone. He looked at Steve, who was pulling back the teenagers from harm's way. He looked at Jonathan, his very first friend. Jonathan glanced up at the same time, the same comforting eyes that he inherited from Joyce shining up at Will.

He had to do this for his family, because that's what all these people were.

Will's family.

He turned, about to run off to El when someone grabbed his arm.

“Please, don't do this.”

Will faced Mike, whose eyes were filling with tears. He was shaking, his face knotted with such pain that Will almost stopped.

But he couldn't. Not now.

He held Mike's face in his hand, thinking back to every single moment he had done this before. “Mike, no matter what happens… I love you.”

Mike was fully sobbing now, clutching on to Will like a lifeline.

For what may have been the last time, Will anchored on his tiptoes and pressed his lips to Mike's, savoring the feeling of being surrounded his love.

He said what they always told each other whenever the other needed comfort.

“It’s always just us. Remember that.”

With one last kiss, Will pushed Mike back, trying to turn away from his cries as Steve, seeming to know what Will had to do, kept Mike from chasing him.

Jonathan was rising to his feet, his face pale as slowly everyone seemed to realize what was happening.  
“Will, there’s no way, we can figure out another plan-”

Will turned one final time and stared back at his family, the people who had always been there for him. The people he would miss.

“I love you all.”

For the second time that evening, time seemed to slow down.

Will finally reached El at the center of the football field, feeling the air around them already growing stronger as he approached her. She didn’t seem to notice him, but when Will rested his hand on her shoulder, she turned. Her bloodshot, tired eyes met his and conveyed everything that told Will he was doing the right thing. She shook her head to stop him, but even that seemed to use up her energy. As gently as possible, Will let the shock from his hand travel across El’s shoulders, just enough for her to be able to stop the pull that seemed to draw her into the Lich.

She passed out as soon as Will let go, her mouth forming his name before she fell to the ground.

Will hoped she knew how much he loved her.

He finally faced his nightmare, the monster that had seemingly taken over his dreams.

The monster that he was going to kill, no matter what.

The Lich’s hollow skull turned to look down at him, it's teeth gleaming in the light of the electricity radiating off of it's body.

“Your sacrifice won’t mean anything. Just like Adrian’s.”

Will closed his eyes, feeling his power slowly building up in his body. He clenched his fists, concentrating all his emotions, his anger, fear, pain, and love, into to the tips of his fingers. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as the first charge of electricity filled his veins.

He stared down the Lich and for once, he fully felt like he was bigger than his enemy.

“This ends now.”

He lifted his arms and thought about everyone he loved, especially Adrian.

And with one earth-shattering scream, Will let go.


	13. Epilogue

“Mike, honey, come in!”

Mike allowed himself to be enveloped in Joyce’s warm embrace, even though he had to hunch over to hug back. He shrugged off his coat, already tuning out her reminiscing about things as he looked around the room.

He hadn’t been here in so long.

The Byers’s house had changed in the last couple of years that Mike had left Hawkins. It still had the specific 80’s aesthetic to it, but it felt empty with only Joyce and Hopper residing in it.

Speaking of…

“What time is El coming home? I haven’t heard from her in a while.”

Joyce stopped rustling around in the kitchen and smiled softly at him, her eyes lighting up. “Oh you know that girl and her schedules. She said she’ll be here at exactly 4:17 so she’s either going to break a couple of traffic laws to make her drive from Indianapolis faster or use her powers to ‘clear the roads’ like that one time.”

Mike laughed, shaking his head at the memory of his ex-girlfriend. While Mike had gone far to get away from the town, El had wanted to stay close to her family, moving to Indianapolis, where she thrived as a cop in the big city. Whenever they got the chance to talk, El told him stories about her arrests and meeting the criminals, something she never seemed to get bored of.

“I know Hopper was glad to be able pick up everyone from the airport, especially because he feels like he hasn’t had that much to do in his retirement.”

Mike nodded, trying to hide his excitement from his face as he thought about getting to see everyone again.

No one in their group had come home in a couple years, all busy with their own thing. So they all had decided to have one sleepover before they lost complete connection with each other, especially now that Lucas and Max were engaged and going to move out to California after the wedding. Mike was ecstatic for them, but he wished things didn’t have to change. Their small group had been the stable support they all had needed, especially after the Lich.

_Wow, the Lich. Haven’t thought about that in a while._

Mike barely remembered what had happened when he was a kid, his therapist explaining to him that it was a coping mechanism, but he did remember how much pain he felt during those times.

If only he could go back and change some events.

Suddenly the phone rang and Joyce hurried to answer. The smile on her face grew as she talked and Mike realized how much she had changed too. The grays in her hair fit her whole grandma image, considering the fact that Jonathan was now a father to a baby boy. She looked a bit frail, but Mike knew better.

She was still the toughest person he had ever met, especially when it came to Will.

 _Will._ Mike’s heart flipped just thinking about him.

Before he could disappear into his thoughts, Joyce hung up and started rushing around the room excitedly, straightening out things. “Hopper said everyone landed safely and they’re almost home.” She glanced at the clock in her rush. “Good timing too, El will be arriving any minute now.”

After Mike helped Joyce tidy up the house a little bit, they heard a car pull up in the driveway. Mike peeked out the curtain and grinned, already yanking open the front door. El stood on the other side and both paused to take each other in.

El’s curly brown hair now reached the small of her back and although still petite, her muscles had definition through her jeans and leather jacket. Her wide smile gave familiarity back to her features and the two shared a friendly embrace as if no time had passed.

Mike really had missed her, even though the pair had broken up. She was always there to talk to and El knew she could trust him.

Mike helped drag in El’s suitcase. She flopped on the couch, flicking her hand up to use her powers to hang up her jacket.

“I’m so glad I can finally relax. Indianapolis has been so stressful, especially since I met Carrie.”

Mike grinned and ducked his head.

Their first year of college, after El realized she had the ability to “explore her interests”, she proudly came out as bisexual to her family and had been dating a girl named Carrie on and off. Mike was proud of her, especially because it gave him the courage to come out as bi to his own family.

El lifted her head off the couch and looked at him, sympathetically. “Oh, right I forgot. It must be hard without Will-”.

Before she could finish, the front door flew open, noise immediately filling the quiet room. Mike shot up to his feet, rushing forward to hug each person who walked through the door.

Dustin grinned at him brightly before pulling Mike closer and he patted his back warmly. Dustin had finally realized he didn’t have to look exactly like Steve to give off the same energy and going off to college in Colorado helped with it. He looked like a new man, starting at the wedding ring on his finger to the fancy watch that he bought after getting a job at a tech company. 

Lucas hugged next, and Mike was transferred back to his childhood. He was now taller than Mike, but he looked exactly the same. His same warm presence and warm smile. “It’s good to see you, man. You ready to plan another campaign for D&D?” Lucas said teasingly.

Max appeared next to him, rolling her eyes. “The only campaign you’re going to be having is for when you run for office, Sinclair.”

Lucas had gone to college to study political science and frankly, he was good at it. From what had happened over the years, Lucas had always been the first to point out what he thought the government was doing wrong, especially with their investigations, and he couldn’t wait to impact the world. Mike couldn’t wait to see his best friend making a difference.

He let out a small noise of surprise after Max tackled him in a hug, her bright red hair brushing against his face as he hugged her back. She ruffled his hair, even though she was much shorter than him. “What’s up, scrub?”

Mike laughed as Lucas teasingly did the same action back to her. Even though the engaged couple had gone off to different colleges, they had kept in contact until they both felt like they were ready to come back together. Both were doing well for themselves, Max had created a shelter for kids with abusive families, especially young girls. She was so involved with the kids that she referred to them as her children, especially after teaching them how to skateboard.

Mike turned away from his two friends when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Hopper stood behind him, Mike finally being the same height as him, and melted into their hug. Even though Hopper and him had a rocky relationship over the years, especially because of his kids, Mike always viewed the chief as the best father figure he had.

He suddenly jerked back, his anxiety seeping through his tone as he looked at Hopper. “Is he…?”

Hopper clapped him on the back and gently pushed him towards the door. Mike barely heard him over the din in the room. “He’s in the woods. Go.”

Mike could barely get out of the house fast enough. He took off running through the trees in the backyard, his feet already finding the familiar winding path that led him to his destination. His heart was beating like crazy, the same crazy rhythm whenever he thought about him.

He scrambled through a break in the trees and came to a halt when he finally saw it.

Castle Byers.

It was still here, after all these years.

The little clubhouse was barely standing, the nails hanging loosely from the boards. Mike remembered when this place was the best place for them, the only place where Will could feel safe. He cautiously took a few steps closer, his feet cracking against the twigs on the ground. The curtain over the entrance started fluttering open, until finally, he was fully standing in front of him.

_Will._

He looked more handsome than the last time Mike had seen him. His soft brown hair was swept away from his dazzling hazel eyes and his shy smile was enough for Mike to lose his breath.

Both leaned forward and that was all it took for the two to run into each other’s arms. Will still fit into his space perfectly, still a bit shorter than Mike. They held onto each other tightly, afraid to let go. After what felt like hours, Will gently moved away, although he kept his hand tucked into the front pocket of Mike’s jeans.

Will’s soft voice was like music to Mike's ears. “I missed you. I can't believe we actually managed to be a full four months apart from each other.”

Mike nuzzled his nose into Will's fluffy hair, inhaling the familiar scent.

Will had decided to go to New York to work on his art career and Mike, although he wanted to be with him, his dad refused to help pay for it. He ended up going to a college in Wisconsin, the farthest his dad would allow, and they had managed to keep their long distance relationship up. Both got jobs in their cities, Mike as a technician and Will as an art teacher. For the past few years, they had traveled back and forth between the two states as many times as they could. Sometimes it was hard, but just getting to hold Will was enough to make Mike feel better.

“I’m glad we don’t have to do it much longer,” Mike whispered in Will’s ear, giggling when Will wriggled with joy. Mike had finally saved up enough money to quit his job and move to New York to be with Will and pursue his writing career. They had even found an apartment in New York that they were planning on moving into.

It was kismet.

Mike continued to just stand there and hold Will, the breeze from the surrounding trees brushing up against them. Even now, Mike always held him close. Their traumatic adventure with the Lich had left Mike with enough protectiveness as he seemed to fit inside himself.

Mike didn’t remember every single detail, but he did remember how strong Will looked as he stood in front of the Lich, electricity seeming to roll off his body. The screams were haunting, especially after they came to a sudden stop once the Lich disintegrated, and Mike had completely given up hope.

Everyone thought Will was dead, something Mike could never forget, until he woke up and clutched his mom as he tried to take in a breath.

Mike had never experienced that amount of relief in his life after seeing Will alive.

Although life went on, the town still not knowing about any of the supernatural that seemed to take over, Will seemed to be the most affected. After using all his powers to fight, Will had been diagnosed with temporary deafness that lasted till they graduated high school.

Plus, he had the scars that Mike was currently running his hands over.

They were long, stretched out across his arms to his back, looking like he had been struck by lightning. They branched down to his fingers, like trees all over his body. Everyone seemed weary of what Will would think when he first saw that, but he chose to see it as a reminder of him fighting for what he loved.

Mike couldn’t have fallen more in love.

He was so lost in thought that he hadn’t even realized Will had dragged him into the tiny clubhouse. The tarp that covered the outside of the structure cast a blue light all around them and the two crowded onto the tiny mattress that used to be able to fit both of them. Will pulled Mike on top of him and pressed their lips together as Mike sighed with happiness.

He finally pulled away after a few minutes and gazed down at Will, noticing the bags under his eyes.

“You must be exhausted from your flight in. Come on, if we tell everyone that the sleeping pills you took on the plane haven’t worn off yet, we can sneak off into your room and enjoy some private time together before we hang out with everyone.” He pulled Will up into a sitting position and was already crawling towards the exit when Will tugged him to a stop.

Mike turned around to see Will sitting there, a small smile on his face as he stared at a canvas nailed to the tree holding the clubhouse together.

It was a painting, a combination of two completely different colors, featuring two boys sitting in a library. Mike knew right away, which boy Will had drawn, having seen his drawings many times before, but the other boy in the painting who looked like Will tugged at his heart strings. The careful strokes and bright colors used were so obvious to him. Mike wrapped his arms comfortingly around Will, already knowing that he would talk whenever he was ready.

Will cleared his throat. “Adrian would have loved New York. He could have been free to be himself and everyone would have been smitten by him, I swear.”

Mike pressed a kiss to Will’s head, his own mind reeling with memories of their friend. Adrian had impacted their lives in such a meaningful way, especially for Will, and Mike would always be grateful that he got to share his life with him.

It was hard to get over his death, especially because most people thought Adrian had died in a car accident, but they all healed.

Will seemed to read his thoughts. “He was a hero. Just like Bob.”

He ran his fingers over the painting and turned to look at Mike, his bright eyes shining up at him as he smiled sweetly.

“We should probably go back before Hopper threatens to arrest you like when he used to catch us in my room in high school.”

Tugging Mike out, Will started back towards the house.

With one final look at Castle Byers, Mike followed him. Their laughter filled the quiet woods as they disappeared through the thicket.

They were safe; they were happy.

They were finally at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we have reached the end. 
> 
> I just want to say thanks to each and every person who has read this. I honestly could not have done this without you. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. You know, it's kinda sad to end this story. 
> 
> Good news is I'm writing another one!!! 
> 
> ANYWAYS I LOVE YOU ALLL XXX


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